Ninjas and Huntresses: Rangers in Remnant
by Darren1138
Summary: An intergalactic gladiator is willing to travel into a new dimension to obtain a great source of power. But when he did not know was that the world is protected by groups of gifted and skilled fighters. Two worlds will collide and heroes must band together to beat a common evil! Ninjas, huntsmen and huntresses, fear no danger! Takes place between RWBY Vol 2 & 3, and Ninja Steel.
1. New Opportunities

**Ninjas and Huntresses: Rangers in Remnant**

 **DISCLAIMER:** _ **RWBY is owned by Rooster Teeth, while Power Rangers Ninja Steel is owned by Saban Brands**_

 **A/N~** **I just love crossovers! And once a show starts to gain my interest, promising ideas start emerging for fateful meetings between heroes or villains.**

 **So here I am, with my first RWBY fanfic. However, I'm still kind of new to the lore of RWBY, even after watching all the volumes thus far. I have chosen to do a crossover to compensate for the developing understanding of the story. And I chose the one other show to complete the crossover; one that I'm very comfortable with.**

 **As you might notice that I'm also writing a Power Rangers story, so that show had to be one of the right choices. For this, I also decided to write about the recent season, Ninja Steel, which is still awaiting the end of its usual hiatus to continue. Hope it'd be enjoyable enough for readers!**

 **So the timelines taking place in this story would be right after Episode 8 of Ninja Steel and in between Volumes Two and Three of RWBY.**

* * *

 **PROLOGUE: New Opportunities**

 **Earth**

It was never anticipated to be this way for him.

A lone and enraged champion; a titanic warrior of pride and fame was ever so furious, watching a screen in the comfort of his throne, joined by several blue armoured minions with metal conical helmets. He who was clad with spiky armour enriched with the toughest golden steel he could find was about to destroy something to calm down, but for now, nothing could easily contain the outrage he had suffered recently.

The anger expressed, the temper thrown. All for a game show.

But it was not just any game show, simply not one for the warrior to watch. It was **his** show. A competition between gladiators from all corners of the universe.

He owned the competition as he was reigning champion over thousands of others waiting to climb up the ladder and challenge him to claim the rightful place as the universe's ultimate fighter.

He would always bring home a special show for his fans from across the universe, with a fresh set of contestants, eager to face off and destroy one another for the satisfaction of millions. Carnage and chaos was almost always certain, and all of that

Unfortunately, this time, there was almost destructive disappointment as the warrior was starting to lose his touch. No, he was not talking about himself. He was somewhat conserving his own strength as the show went on, or so he claimed.

It was his own show that was beginning to fall. Ratings were everything to the Champion. The show's popularity was what determined his power. However, this was starting to become something of a glaring weakness for the Champion.

Some under his wing began to fear that the fame and praise would start to affect the Champion's own strengths. They feared that the time he had spent looking for the worthy opponent for the masses to be in awe for had taken a massive toll in his ability to fight, his fear and most importantly, his own confidence.

The Champion was seated down, fists thrown all over and eventually slamming onto both of the arm rests on his chair. Panting profusely from his tense temper tantrum, he watched the screen where a team of warriors with helmets built visors covering their heads, and in suits stylized like the ancient ninja warriors of old Earth tales. There were six warriors of different sorts of colours; red, blue, yellow, pink, white and gold. Five of them, except for the gold one, armed with yellow swords while the aforementioned gold warrior had a silver and gold sword with a star-shaped hilt as his weapon. The team was seen distancing themselves away from a furious fireball, walking proudly while some spun or twirled their blades around, as if they had defeated a great foe.

From the way they stood forward in victorious strides, they were most certainly not the ones the Champion was rooting for.

What was once the galaxy's most infamous but yet popular show was now at risk of being ruined by the interference these fighters. Warriors dressed in coloured suits and riddled with legends of their power and strength.

Everyone knew about these colourful warriors and the legend of how they would destroy other 'evil' monsters to bring peace to the galaxy. Peace that simply called for no fighting or war. A certain recipe for utter disappointment by the fans of this deadly game show.

If such powerful warriors were to interfere with the show, then surely enough, there would be a great descent of great content to watch, and thus a great fall in ratings.

The Champion would not sit still for this. These powered brats had been a thorn on his side for far too long. He had gone on and on about how he would destroy these meddling pests and save his show, and his pride, from falling.

There was nothing that could stop him. He was Galvanax!

And not even a bunch of powerful warriors that the universe had come to known for thousands of years would stand in his way. Galvanax will have his victory yet, and it will be his greatest yet; the defeat of the Power Rangers!

As for now, he was still ventilating from his steaming anger, as he would for every single time the Rangers would defeat a gladiator of his choice. Instead of steady breathing , he chose to roar out his frustration, completely scaring all around him.

"Those darn Rangers have done it again!" hissed Galvanax in a very rough and low voice. Rage built up, forcing the Champion to rise from his seat and stomp his feet down on the rusty concrete floor.

He failed to notice another blue minion; a Kudabot just walking towards him, crashing into it in a rough collision. But he could not care less about what happened to it. In fact, he even reached for the Kudabot, grabbing it by the helmet and shoved him towards a wall, adding more pain to the unfortunate guard.

Galvanax just walked past the fallen Kudabot who squirmed all over the floor like a worm which got squashed by a human foot. In other words, it was very, very painful.

"Why do always depend on weak little morons to carry out my dirty work?!"

The sight of the Kudabot fallen on the floor proved his point. Incompetence was starting to take over the place, replacing the notoriety and dread of battle-hardened contestants or loyal followers of true strength.

"Sir!" Speaking of which, a tough-looking combatant entered from an automatic sliding door and walked up to Galvanax. The warrior was dressed in a rough leather robe over his blue armour with a combat mask covering his face and spiky white hair grown down to the middle of his back, walking on red boots. Two swords were sheathed on both sides of his waist in red holsters.

"Another failure, Ripcon!" Galvanax bellowed fiercely at his General, putting the blame on him for coming up with another wasted contestant to take on the Rangers and ultimately failing to do so. "You better find a way to defeat those Ranger fools or I'm going to toss you into the Sun!"

Ripcon stepped back from the fear of facing his master in a bad mood. Bad enough to rip him to shreds.

"F-fear not, sir!" He waved his hands in a panic. "I'll… I'll be right on it! I'll just send another monster to deal with the Rangers again!"

Just when he was about to send him off, promising a swift punishment should Ripcon fail again, they were suddenly interrupted by a coarse female voice coming from the same door.

"You know better than to trust Ripcon, my liege." Walking right in was a mysterious female alien, dressed in a large yellow robe and had her face covered behind a smiling wolf head-shaped kabuki mask with two cloud-like tubes coming up from her back to her hair which was tied up into a bud.

Her arrival was met with hostility by Ripcon who stomped towards the lady with an untrusting perception on her.

"You're the one to talk, Odius." snarled the General. "What do you know about **trust**?" Madame Odius chuckled lightly at Ripcon, showing her calm and unwavering stance towards him.

"Apparently, more than you do, Ripcon. And that's saying a lot." Her instant retaliation was enough to make the sneering General to argue back.

"Says the fool who hid the Gold Power Star from us and kept the one who became the Gold Ranger locked in some hidden room where not even our glorious Galvanax was aware of."

Instead of letting the argument go on, Galvanax simply pushed Ripcon aside, allowing the deceptive underling to talk.

"Speak, Madame Odius." Galvanax stared at Odius with a lot of distrust. "Do give me one reason why should I spare you for deceiving me." He cracked his knuckles to show the woman that he meant business when it came to liars or anyone who would act behind his back.

"Indeed, sir." Madame Odius bowed respectfully at her boss, refusing to show little fear she had on her face. "I fear that people are beginning to lose their confidence in you, sir. The fans are getting… bored of the lack of performance in our contestants. Even our biggest fans from the planet Onyx are starting to switch channels." The news was not taken lightly by the reigning king of the game as he growled in anger by the consequences of his minions' multiple failures over the past few months.

"HRGH!" Galvanax stomped his foot down as a result from the typical yet unacceptable answer. "I might as well finish off those Rangers myself if I have to!"

"Ah!" Odius suddenly interrupted him and pointed her finger upwards, wiggling it to make a point. "Remember what we discussed? You cannot simply take on the Power Rangers, especially when they are at their strongest. Think about your fans. Just imagine what would happen when the mighty Galvanax, champion of all fighters, gets destroyed by a mere gang of teenage humans of Earth."

There was nothing Galvanax could do to argue with the soothsayer. He knew she was right. The suspicions of Galvanax's absence in battling the Rangers had raised some growing questions in not just his own inner circle, but within his most loyal fans as well.

There was still one scene where he _bravely_ faced the Red Ranger in the flesh, delivering a supposed ultimatum to determine the fate of Earth's survival. Plus, he also once projected clones of himself to wreak havoc on the Rangers and their city.

Howevef, not even these brief demonstrations of his power could deter the nuisance of the Power Rangers, always beating his contestants down one by one.

As a result, there were still worrying suspicions growing all around and Galvanax was not liking it one bit. And now, his show was tumbling and losing its fame really fast amidst the one-sided victories of the Rangers.

"Fine." retorted the big fighter, lowering his volume. "Then, what do you suggest, Madame Odius?"

"Well, I'm glad you asked." She moved towards the computer screen, signalling to the others to follow her to view what she had to offer.

Still, a gut-wrenching feeling was crawling up Galvanax's spine. Madame Odius was surely a treacherous one. After all, like Ripcon said, she did hide an important power from him and kept the one who became the Gold Ranger because of it; all within the shadows of his own ship. Madame Odius was someone Galvanax never really trusted, but given her vast knowledge of searching for infinite power, she was still worth keeping. To make sure things did not go awry, he reached for his more loyal servant and leaned to his ear, away from Odius' hearing.

Ripcon was a General fully loyal to Galvanax, never one to stab in the back and could always be relied on when it came to the rather dirtier tasks. To the champion, he was an enforcer who could get the job done without question, even if his recent fights against the Power Rangers didn't go the way he wanted.

"Keep an eye on her, Ripcon." Galvanax whispered. "The moment you catch her in the act, toss her out the ship if you must."

"Gladly." Ripcon acknowledged, speaking in a voice that almost sounded like he was eager to carry out the dastardly act. Nevertheless, the two complied with Madame Odius' claims and just listened in while the lady manned the control console.

Within the screen, the planet Earth was visible. But after a few taps on the controls, she zoomed out to reveal the spiral form of the galaxy they were in before fading out towards what appeared to be a portal somewhere deep in space.

Intrigued by what Odius was showing him, Galvanax looked closer, waiting for her to explain her next ingenious plan.

"What is this?" he asked.

"This, great Galvanax, is the answer to all our problems." said Odius.

"A wormhole?" Ripcon wondered. "And what do you think is in there, Odius?"

"Well, Ripcon. If your miniscule brain can handle the answer…" Ripcon snarled again at the snarky comment of the old hag who dared taunt him some more. "Since our ratings are plundering, I have decided to switch things around. From what I can tell, there is something in that wormhole that I had recently detected. Something that might interest you, oh mighty Galvanax."

Galvanax looked on in pure interest. What could be there that can give him what he would need to regain his reputation?

"Go on." he ordered. "What did you find in there?"

"A burst of energy. Power that I managed to measure with our scanners. And from the looks of things, this power, though very minute, could hold enough power to put a huge dent on a nearby star."

The Champion was now even more curious, while also allowing a growing feeling of desire in Odius' explanation. If that little power she found could punch a hole on a star, then imagine how much more it would take to destroy a whole planet. Perhaps, one the size of Earth! Galvanax was certain that Madame Odius was on to something, and thus, all thoughts or reminders of her deceptive nature were put aside, for now at least. He needed that power, but the question still remained. Just what was there, on the other side of the wormhole that could hold such power? Where did it come from and what obstacles could he face when travelling in the realm of the unknown? Surely such dangerous perils laid within if such tremendous power existed. So, with that in mind, Galvanax thought it was the right solution to his descending popularity problems.

"So, you're saying that if there is a power that could destroy an entire planet, then it would call for much needed entertainment!" The mighty warrior exclaimed with pure intent. If there was any way to boost ratings, then taking on the possible dangers of this realm may just be what he needed for that maximum violent factor which would prove just right for his game show.

"If we are to obtain power like this, then I suggest we travel there!" added Ripcon.

 **SMACK!**

"Dargh!" But the joy was short-lived when he felt a hard smack on the head. The force of the blow was strong enough to send the General falling down onto the floor faster than he could react to. Once he shook his head to find himself on the floor, he looked up to see that the one who punched was none other than the impulsive Champion himself.

Ripcon looked down in shame, expecting an extremely long loud rant from his master to slowly pin him down in agony.

"You talk too much." Instead, there was a simple one-liner from Galvanax's mouth. It wasn't what Ripcon expected, but it was enough to keep him shut. Galvanax had no time to deal with nosy Generals, so with the information he needed from Madame Odius, he moved on to begin his next deadly mission.

Madame Odius followed him out the door, but not before sneaking a little chuckle to taunt the fallen General. Ripcon heard the laugh and growled under his breath, cursing at the witch for her disrespect.

He had to admit, though, that she did bring a most promising endeavour; one that could help Galvanax accomplish his goals for total domination and the restoration of his image as the unstoppable war machine of the known universe.

" _For once, that old hag managed to convince us. But betray us, she will not!_ _I will just have to keep a keen eye on her._ "

* * *

Galvanax was on his way through a corridor towards a large stage. A stage filled with lights illuminating the entire chamber. All around he could hear the echoes of loud cheering coming from the stage in front of him, all from the many hundreds of fans who had come to witness the epic battles between the greatest warriors in the universe.

When he had the centre stage in sight, there he found the overflowing crowd right in front of him; aliens of all shapes and sizes, all cheering with their favourite champion now visible. At the very middle of the stage, a goblin-like alien with a smiley face dressed in a fancy tuxedo and a nice top hat, holding with him a cane for that show host style to appease to the crowd.

"And here he is, ghouls and brutes!" the alien known as Cosmo Royale, greeted the Champion for the audience. "The strongest of the strongest! The devil of destruction! The mighty king of combat and brutal violence! GALVANAX!"

Galvanax was showered with the echoing roars of excitement and cheer by his loving fans. They did waves and shouted all cries of joy when their favourite fighter approached the stage, allowing Cosmo Royale to sidestep away to the back of the stage.

Galvanax then reached for the crowd and raised a fist in the air, signalling them all of the triumphant goal he had to reveal.

"My loyal subjects! Ever since we came to this wretched planet, we had done nothing but drag ourselves to the ground in defeat thanks to those pesky Power Rangers!"

The crowd followed him in disgust with boos and hisses directed at the killjoys who spoilt the fun of the show since day one. They were simply flabbergasted by the intervention of unwelcome and unofficial fighters who were getting rid of their other favourite combatants. No one was perfect, and even Galvanax knew that other fighters were gaining more support through their own victories against other competitors. Then again, that served to become fuel to the massive anticipation for an ultimate battle against Galvanax himself, to prove who would be able to overthrow him and take over as king of the arena.

"But I assure you. Today, things are going to be different!"

Everyone wooed in intrigue, hearing to what their star had to offer for his contestants next. The giant screen above Galvanax showed up the same wormhole Madame Odius had shown him earlier.

"This is a wormhole that my followers picked up. Through this portal, there lies an energy source so powerful, it may hold the power to destroy entire worlds!"

A massive combination of outcries boomed the stage after the promise of more power that called for more brutal entertainment.

"And here I hold a challenge!" The arena fell silent as all eyes were on Galvanax's declaration of tribulation for his fighters. "Whoever can venture there and find the power and claim it as his own shall be the one to challenge the Power Rangers and destroy them, once… and for all!"

Everyone cheered again, getting themselves fired up for the exciting special that laid ahead. A show-stopping spectacle was about to take place and Galvanax would be sure to send his greatest fighters to pursue this immense energy to destroy the Power Rangers. And who knows? If such power was evident, then it was guaranteed that there would be obstacles for his monsters to take on and defeat in order to obtain the great power.

"Our warriors will face each other and whatever obstacles that stand in their way until only one survives. Whoever survives shall be the one who would be chosen to fight the Power Rangers and claim Earth as our own to face me in battle!" Galvanax concluded his brief but enticing speech, enough to send the whole audience packing away with almost unlimited excitement.

This was going to be the show of the millennium. Nothing was going to stop Galaxy Warriors from putting on the greatest episode in the history of the universe!

"And you heard it live, folks!" Cosmo Royale took the stage as Galvanax left the audience to astounding cheers and woos. "Stay tuned! Because Galvanax will select the lucky individuals who shall venture into this new dimension and take on the dangers to retrieve the ultimate power!"

The Champion headed back into the quiet and shadowy scene backstage. Word of his new mission spread quickly throughout even the crew of the giant ship that was his main venue for the show. Kudabots were seen marching along with their weapons at the ready and some even carrying supply crates here and there. Some different looking monsters were also seen, readying their weapons for their brand new chances for the ultimate power.

Galvanax made it very clear. Only one would come out on top to have that power within the dimension. If they had to cut each other down and destroy one another, so be it. That was how things were then and it would stay that way for as long as Galaxy Warriors continued to air.

"Madame Odius!" Galvanax then moved back with his inner circle, calling upon the soothsayer who revealed this grand opportunity to him. She instantly responded and arrived to listen in to her leader's command.

"Yes, great Galvanax." she called.

"You will take a shuttle and land in that world, find out what is out there that shall prove to be of worthy material for our combatants. Make sure it's deadly too. We wouldn't want our greatest fight yet to be less than favourable, am I correct?" ordered Galvanax.

For a while, Odius was a little nervous by the order. What she knew of that dimension was only the surface; just that mere wormhole. There was nothing else that she knew about the world that was on the other side of that wormhole. In other words, she was only scratching that surface, unsure if exploring underneath it was such a good idea, let alone on her own.

However, there was no point defying an order from Galvanax. Everything had to be followed, suicidal or not.

"Yes, sir." She forced a determined answer.

"Good." Galvanax said before turning around. "Go now." With that, he left the woman to carry out the risky operation of scouting out the unknown world. She scoffed and headed off reluctantly to the world.

However, a small sense of mischief and treachery was brewing inside of her. Yet another smirk crept up behind her mask. Perhaps this was another chance to usurp the throne from Galvanax and claim her own chance at the greatest power. She failed before, so she was not going to fail this time. She had to plan out her own scheme to reach that power before Galvanax would.

"This will be fun…"

As she left the area, Galvanax returned to the comfort of his throne, commanding the Kudabot pilots to set course for that wormhole at the other end of the galaxy. As the ship turned around away from the blue planet it was orbiting, it then cruised on, moving forward into the stars and finally, in a split second, warped away, disappearing into thin air.

* * *

 **Unknown Destination**

" _My dear…"_

" _Yes, my liege…"_

" _I sense… a presence. A presence of pure evil and darkness. Something that desires for our world. I can feel it. It calls for our own darkness. It wants… our power."_

" _And what do you want me to do?"_

" _My dear Cinder… You will find out about this darkness. Make it our asset for yourself and see if you can put it to good use against all who stand against us."_

" _And if this… whatever it is… stands against us… what would you have me do then? Snuff it out before it catches fire?"_

" _You know what I want… It's all up to you. Just make sure to take care of it when it proves to be of no use to you."_

" _Understood, my queen."_

" _Remember, Cinder. Show no mercy. Whatever it is that dares come for our dark power. You will take care of it, at all costs."_

" _As you wish."_

" _And who knows… If you are able to accomplish your task… I might just let you become part of my inner circle…"_

" _Thank you, your Highness."_

" _Very good, my dear. Very good."_

 **TO BE CONTINUED**

* * *

 **A/N~ So that's it! The beginning of a new endeavour and a new scheme! It starts out short to deliver the villains (at least on Galvanax's side) to their next course of action. I decided to obscure the meeting between Cinder and a certain dark figure, as it might help fit in with the mystery that surrounded Volume 3 and would lead up to Volume 4. I'm sure RWBY fans will know what just went on in that brief ending of this prologue, but if you haven't, then I recommend you watch RWBY! It's certainly a glorious hit on YouTube brought to us by the masterminds of Rooster Teeth, creators of the mega classic, Red VS Blue.**

 **If you're wondering about Ninja Steel, however, then you can also check that out, but as of this chapter, you wouldn't be missing much or worry about taking in the story since only eight episodes had been released so far, and the series will not air until sometime this August.**

 **So, that will be all! Be sure to leave some much needed feedback to see if I got your attention! Thank you to anyone who would be lovely enough to leave a review or at least a like in advance!**

 **Catch you all next time!**


	2. Evil Rising

**CHAPTER 1: Evil Rising**

 **A/N~ Okay! Time for a new chapter! Let's kick this off with a Yang!**

 **I'm not really sure HOW LONG it had been in between RWBY Volume 2 and 3, but I'm going to make this story set one month after the events of Volume 2, assuming that the Vytal Festival began before then.**

 **Let's address the first set of reviews!**

 **R9 (Guest): As I mentioned at the end of the last chapter, Ninja Steel will continue this August, but the precise date has just been confirmed to be on the 12** **th** **of that month!**

 **Dark Mage Wyvern Lord: Well, that's what story writing is about. A plot is not complete for readers in just one chapter**

* * *

 _ **One Month Later…**_

 _ **Remnant**_

Night came with a blanket of darkness shadowing all over the city of Vale. The streets that was once bustling with people here and there were emptied with only a few pedestrians roaming around the sidewalks, possibly on their way home for the night. The shop houses all shut down and closed up, save for a few late night exceptions to allow night-time visitors a chance to spend a few Lein before they hit their beds.

The alleyways were completely dark and quiet, only a few squeaks of nearby rats could be heard. The silence was soon broken with the sounds of tapping footsteps coming from the alley itself.

A lone stranger, backed by two more accomplices, walked deep into the shady and quiet backways of the buildings. One of them, a girl with mint green-coloured hair wearing a white top over a green undershirt, could smell the wretched stench of garbage in the air, causing her face to cringe along with her twitching nose. She waved her hand on her nose to relieve herself of the terrible smell.

The man with grey hair pinched his own nose, also being repulsed by the pungent scent in the air.

"Ergh…" The girl groaned. "Remind me why we came to this part of town again."

"What's wrong, Emerald? You're not being put off by a simple stench are you?" The man retorted at her jokingly. All he got was a nice whack to the back of his head by the disgruntled girl.

The woman in front of them, who had long messy black hair and a red dress, did not pay any attention to the scuffle between the two. She held a sort of scanner device and was swaying it around and around, looking for something in the area.

Once she walked in, a dot on the radar screen kept blinking in a steady pace. Suddenly, the deeper she went, the faster the blinking went. Eventually, the blipping dot flashed on and off at such rapid speed, she knew she was in the right place.

"Ah… There you are." The woman dropped the device down and looked upon where the object could be. Everyone's eyes pointed straight at the same direction and there they found what they were looking for.

They came across a wide back alleyway, where there was nothing but piles of trash and rubbish and dumpsters and a lone streetlight shining what little light it could in the immensely dark area.

Quietly approaching, they could see a weird humanoid creature, standing upright. What perplexed them, at least the two younger associates at the back were, was that the creature wore what looked like a yellow dress and had a head that featured something like a white mask.

"What the heck is that?" asked Emerald. "That a Grimm?"

"Since when do Grimm wear clothes?" countered Mercury, the grey-haired guy.

"But it has a white head with those red markings on 'em."

"And… a smile…?"

Emerald was about to add up to her defence, but seeing that there was no other way to compare the creature with some other beast from far away, she gave up quite fast.

"Okay, maybe it's not a Grimm."

"Shut up, you two." The front woman silenced the duo, continuing to look further into the mysterious being lurking in the shadows. They made their move, stepping quietly towards the strange creature.

For the next few seconds, all was silent, the creature failed to notice any sudden movements or suspicious noises. The trio of humans were getting closer to finding out what on Remnant was going on with it, hoping to make use of this new turn of events.

Just what could it be? A monster? A new form of Grimm?

If it was, then all of people, Cinder Fall would be aware of the birth of a new one. Plus, as they got closer, it was starting to be clear that this was no Grimm indeed. The white face Emerald thought was from a genuine Grimm was not a face at all, but a mask. The creature also had its arms held together like a lady in a royal ceremony, too courteous for any barbaric creature of destruction.

"It's been one whole month." Suddenly, they could have sworn they heard the monster speak! A raspy female voice in perfect English, despite it being in only a few words, but imagine their extra surprise when **she** began to speak again. "And still, no sign of it. Where is it?"

Despite the startling discovery, the three humans neared their target with caution, hoping to catch her before she noticed anything.

 **SPLASH!**

Unfortunately, Mercury was too focused on the monster that he did not see a small puddle of murky water in his path. It was too late to stop as he stepped on the puddle, causing the water to spurt out in a loud splash sound

"Huh?!" The robed monster was suddenly alerted by the splashing sound, sharply turning to where the humans were. There she saw three young humans all startled by her turn of direction.

 **WOOOSSHHH!**

All of a sudden, the mysterious being thrust her arm out at them. At once, they felt a powerful force pushing off against them. They dragged off a few feet away from the attacker before stalling to a stop. While the strong force was still blasted upon them, they did their best to hold the ground, pushing themselves down, shielded their faces with their arms from the stretching pull acting on their faces, and pressing their feet as hard as they could.

For a good three seconds, they managed to hold off the force of the blast. The strange being ceased her power when she could not do anymore.

The standoff commenced when Cinder's squad stood opposed and battle-ready against the powerful creature.

"Ah! So you dare sneak up on me?" the creature sneered at them. "Foolish children!" With the snap of her fingers, eight dark blue clouds of smoke puffed up all around her. When the smoke vanished, each of them revealed an armoured soldier with blue armour and a metal conical helmet. Five of them were holding yari-like spear weapons with tips made of several diamond-shaped blades while the rest of the three others wielded laser-powered arquebuses.

Cinder smirked at the sight of these soldiers. Her heart burned with a huge fire inside, eager to show these unknown enemies who they were messing with. The other two cohorts behind her were ready to back her up, equally satisfied with the thought of battle.

"Kudabots! Attack!" The wizard ordered her newly summoned troopers to charge for the trio. From the looks of these three suit-less humans, the being known as Madame Odius was certain victory was at hand. She expected this fight would end in an instant. Those humans had spirit, which she would admit.

However, underestimating the enemy proved to be a clear mistake. And she would learn it the hard way. Cinder and her teammates were readying themselves for the battle ahead of them. Mercury stomped on the ground during which a clicking sound is heard from both of his boots. Emerald unsheathed a pair of jungle-green revolvers with curved blades built underneath the barrels. Cinder waved her hands up and conjured a pair of black glass swords which she then brought them together and attached them at the hilts to form a bow.

The Kudabots raged forward in a formation reminiscent of an old military procedure. The five spearmen head the charge to attack the enemy head on, leaving behind the rest of the sharpshooters to line up and take their shots.

Mercury was up first to charge right in and engaged with the Kudabots with his boots. The Kudabots swung their spears at him in an attempt to skewer him down to the ground. However, just before they could have the chance, Mercury rolled out of the way just in time as the Kudabots all landed on the ground and stabbed the tough stone tiles on the floor.

Mercury turned his head around and smirked when he saw the Kudabots all incapacitated by the failed strike and recollecting themselves from the messy move. From there, he saw his chance and sped for them, kicking one of the Kudabots at the back.

 **BANG!**

Once he made contact, a loud bang was heard as the Kudabot was knocked out by a sudden shot from the boot that kicked it. It was in fact an actual bullet that was shot out of his boot heel, yet the impact was powerful enough to propel a Kudabot towards the wall.

He made a move and dealt with the rest of the Kudabots. Each tried to swing their spears individually, but the agile fighter sidestepped and danced his way through each attack, following up with more of his kick shots at them until they were all knocked off.

Watching their melee-style counterparts taken out, the Kudabots with the firearms moved in for the shot, kneeling down and aiming their laser muskets on Emerald.

Despite the steady formation, the girl with the jade hair simply walked in a casual stride. She twirled her blasters around until she cocked them to firing mode before putting her index fingers around the triggers.

The Kudabots stood firm and fired a barrage of laser bolts from their blasters. The blue laser projectiles were shot in a line and headed straight for her. But all Emerald had to do was leap in the air and look down on the enemy while she was in mid-air.

The Kudabots down below were scattering to fire back up he gave them a taunting wink before aiming her blasters at the airborne fighter. They let loose more shots, lasers blazing at her direction.

The lasers managed to hit their mark and Emerald was sent hurling down on the ground in a hard landing. While she laid still on the ground, the Kudabots lowered their weapons and checked on her remains. They approached her unconscious body, looking down on her to confirm their hit.

 **TWACK!**

Suddenly, a strike to their heads all sent them off towards another wall, piling up on top of one another and defeated. In their eyes, it would look like they did managed to take down at least one of their attackers.

Unfortunately, they were wrong. There stood Emerald, proudly swinging her right blaster which was now attached with a long metal chain at its back like a flail. Its underslung blade was now extended out as a dagger of sorts, making the weapon a whip of sorts.

From the looks of her body, she did not seem to suffer any damage at all. The area on the floor where it was thought that she landed on did not show any sign of a crash. It was firmly intact, as if she casted some sort of illusion on those downed Kudabots. It didn't take long for anyone to assume that it could be just that; an ability to cast a tricky illusion on her foes.

"Imbeciles!" So much for backup, Madame Odius mentally cursed. Now, she was left alone, and her opponent, Cinder was now coming towards her, bow and three arrows loaded at the ready. "Well, I guess I shall destroy you myself!"

Odius defiantly faced her enemy head on and conjured up two fireballs in her hands. Cinder pulled the bowstring back and made ready to fire her arrows. The soothsayer threw both of her fireballs at Cinder in furious swings.

Even as the fireballs raged towards Cinder, she held her ground and fired all three arrows back at Madame Odius' direction. The two sides flew right for each other poised to hit their respective targets. As soon as they came into contact, they immediately blew up in a large explosion.

Madame Odius was blinded by the flashing blast and shielded her eyes. As soon as she opened them back, panic struck as the same three arrows somehow survived the impact and speared right for her. With little time to react, she leapt out of the way just in time before the arrows could cut her down.

Even as she avoided a nasty fate, the battle was far from over. She then flung another pair of fireballs at Cinder with fiercer power from her growing outrage. However, once again, Cinder was one step ahead of her, sliding her feet and gliding away from the incoming fireballs. After she safely avoided the explosions, she let loose another volley of arrows at the monster.

Odius jumped out of the way just in time and kept attacking Cinder, this time with a massive blue wave of fire like a raging mini tsunami to sweep all three humans at once.

Cinder gave an ominous nod to her teammates, which they acknowledged. At her signal, they all jumped out of the way; the two of them stepping away at the sides while Cinder back flipped in the air, allowing the wave of fire to pass through and blast a wall before disappearing into thin air. The infernal attack looked quite powerful, but when it hit the building, not a single burn mark was found as if no damage had been done to it.

The moment Cinder landed down after the blaze, the two other humans sped forward to flank Madame Odius from both sides. The soothsayer saw them coming for her and got into her defensive position.

Mercury moved in to shoot her down with his gun-boots. He hit Odius which then he heard the loud bang he would often catch when hitting his targets, but to his surprise, the seemingly weight-burdened monster was somehow further away from where she originally was. The two women who managed to see that she actually shifted away in the speed of light.

The stunned fighter tried to kick her again, but she already took care of him by tossing a few fireballs at him. Mercury made some back flips away and landed back on his feet. He gritted his teeth from the disappointing outcome.

Emerald took her turn and fired her guns at Odius. The magic user responded by raising her hand towards the bullets and made some glowing circle on her hand. As the bullets came for her, Odius moved her hand so that the rapid-fired stream of bullets could be caught by the glowing disc on her hand. With lightning fast speed, her hand moved to block off each bullet without a single miss! Her hand just stopped all her shots without a single scratch, catching Emerald off guard long enough for Odius to fire another fireball at her. Emerald flew back towards the wall, taking her out.

Odius then turned towards Mercury behind her, seeing that he was charging at her for another kick. As soon as he tried, raising his foot at her, she had the same energy disc on her hand and pointed it at Mercury, enlarging it to form a shield to protect herself from the incoming attack. Mercury's momentum was instantly cut short as he came to a full stop when he kicked the shield. At that moment, Odius managed to swing her shield away, throwing Mercury off his balance and dropping him down on the floor.

With two combatants down, it was time to finish up with the last one.

"Stop!" Suddenly, a cold shrilling voice halted her advance. She faced the last warrior on the field and saw that it was Cinder who told Odius to cease fighting. She would not have any of that, however. "Perhaps we can settle this the easy way."

Cinder put away her weapon, making it vanish out of sight.

"And why should I?" Madame Odius relented, arguing that she had no intention on removing these nosy brats from her sight.

A sly smirk came from Cinder. Realizing that her opponent would not back down so easily, she decided to show her the hard way, after all. Waving her hand upwards, she focused her energy in her body and directed her hand facing Madame Odius.

All of a sudden, Odius could feel something hot at her legs. After another second, she could feel the heat rising rapidly until eventually, it was almost impossible to stop it.

"ARGH!" She could see that her legs were enveloped in a blazing fire that began to burn her in an agonizing moment of extreme pain. She wanted to bend down and dust off the flames, but when that didn't work, she tried to use her own magic to extinguish the flames. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to work as the fire continued to burn through her skin.

She then looked at Cinder and saw that her hand had a small orb of flames on it, instantly giving her the notion that she was doing this. She could not believe that a human could cause this much power and could not do anything to stop her.

"Choose." Cinder knew that her enemy was now powerless, trapped in agony and desperation to break out. All she had to do now was reel in the prey. "Talk… or die…"

Madame Odius was running out of time. The fire was getting more and more powerful as it began to burn up towards her whole body. Even so, she did her best to withstand the pain, in a last ditch effort to show her foe no fear. However, after the pain grew on and reaching her torso, there was no point relenting. She had no choice… but to give up.

"Ugh… Very well."

Cinder gave her one last smirk before finally accepting her opponent's surrender. She flicked her hand back and slowly eliminating the burning power from Madame Odius. The soothsayer dropped to the ground and on her knees, relieving herself of the burns she had suffered.

She casted another magic spell on herself. Cinder kept a watchful eye on the defeated Odius as she did so, but all worries were cast aside when Odius finally rose up and the magic casted was gone. Probably a healing spell of sorts.

Even after being fully healed, Madame Odius had no more reason to continue the fight. There was just no way she could take on Cinder if she would be capable of using such powerful magic on her own.

On the other hand, there was a sudden spark of interest inside of her. If a human was able to summon fire with her own hands, then could this be the answer she was looking for? Was this the energy she was tracking this whole time?

"Good. Now, let us begin." Cinder ceased all hostilities, or at least attempted to, and began her little talk with the demon. Her intent on getting answers from her was now coming into play. A monster this powerful could mean a chance to gain much needed power to realize her goals. All she had to do was find out if this creature was just another beast to tame, or would she be much more powerful than any Grimm known to man. "Who are you?" she asked.

"What do you want to know, human filth?" Madame Odius sneered at Cinder, still disgusted by her defeat.

At that moment, Cinder's two teammates had recollected themselves up and went to gather back at Cinder's side. Wounded by the fight, they held to the places at their body that hurt the most and limped their way towards their leader.

"See? Told you it's not a Grimm." mused Mercury.

"So what? It's not like I said it was definitely a Grimm…" argued Emerald.

"Silence!" They were both hushed up by the strict voice of Cinder telling them to shut their mouths, with them not wanting to argue with her. Mercury and Emerald were now quiet enough for Cinder to continue her discussion with the creature.

She noted Odius' hostile expression with her fists clenched each second Cinder looked at her. The woman came up with a way to approach the being without causing another scene. There was already enough of a ruckus as it was. More fighting would definitely mean more noise, and thus more unwanted attention.

"Now, now. Let's be civil. We're all living beings, are we not?" She tried to at least put up an act to look a little more passive. Madame Odius saw the softening of Cinder's tone, but the hard feelings towards her were still keeping her from trusting the human.

"Don't push your luck with me, young one." she hissed.

"And what do they call you?" asked Cinder.

"If you must know, I am Madame Odius." the soothsayer answered. "I am but a wandering wizard in search for something in this world. But before I go on, how did you find me?" Cinder pulled out the device that she used earlier to find Odius' energy. Perhaps a little bit of closure with her could help gain her trust in the matter.

"This scanner of mine has been detecting a source of dark power in this area. And it led me straight to you."

"Ahh… So you are interested in the dark arts?" Odius stroked her own chin, interested in what this human could be interested in.

"Let's just say…" Cinder snapped her fingers, igniting a small flame on them from a single spark. "I'm picking up on it as I go."

Odius then came over towards Cinder. The human woman backed up a bit, slightly agitated by her advance. She did, however, remain in place without any action. She sensed Madame Odius' energy coming from her body, being calm and curious, like she wanted to find something out from her.

The soothsayer took a good look at Cinder and tried to feel for any power inside of her. Surely enough, she found what she was looking for. That same energy she was looking for. What made it even more interesting was that the power inside of Cinder felt very… cold. Much like her own.

"This is very rare." mused Odius.

"What is?" wondered Cinder.

"That of all the foul creatures I've met in my days, I did not suspect humans learning the ways of darkness." explained Odius as she stepped away from Cinder. "Well, children. Aren't you an interesting bunch…?"

Odius came forward towards the other humans behind Cinder. The leader of the team naturally let the wizard go through her and scan Mercury and Emerald for their own energy signatures. The way Odius wanted to feel for the energy within them told Cinder that it had to do with her Aura, and it was clear from her voice that she was craving for such power.

This Madame Odius seemed like a power-hungry being, searching for more power to fuel her might. However, there was something that held her back from being a sort of assertive figure; the one in charge of either herself or any group or organization.

Odius was busy checking out the two younger fighters for their powers. Unfortunately, she was getting a little too close for comfort. Their skin started to tense up and bodies were getting crept out by the seemingly excessive probing of their energies with the shadowy figure just drifting around them like a phantom in the night.

"Umm… Okay. You're kinda creeping me out right now." Mercury could feel a crawling sensation zapping up his spine and was getting quite jumpy with it. "Can I kick her down now?"

"No." Another bone-chilling command by Cinder forced him to endure Odius' scanning. He did not have to wait long since she was finally over in seconds, giving him time to feel the relief set in.

Odius quickly deduced the humans' powers and she fell very impressed and accomplished at the same time. First, these were three humans with extraordinary powers; the same ones she had found during her time at the Warrior Dome. Far more interesting though was how connected they were with the same darkness that she indulged in.

For the first time, she could finally feel at common ground with these puny humans; the hostile interaction now becoming something of a neutral conversation between like-minded beings.

"I see within you a sense of wanting. A desire for something greater than anything your world had ever seen." deduced Odius, identifying with the team of their dark ambitions.

"You sure are perceptive." Cinder agreed, as she too felt like something can be negotiated with this strange wizard from who knows where she came from.

"Trust me, darling. I've seen that kind of desire in many beings from where I come from."

"And where **do** you come from?" asked Emerald.

"That is not important." defended Madame Odius.

"Well, then maybe you can answer us one question." Cinder added, hoping to push forward into the details. "Why are you here? Are you here to find… a certain something that we have?"

"That is of no concern to you, child." Even with the soothsayer's own defiance still mounting, Cinder attempted to ask further with more striking questions.

"Are you sure? Because if I'm not mistaken, you must be here for a power that could benefit anyone of your form. If sensing for our own energies was of any indication."

"How would you know?" Madame Odius believed it was her turn to ask some questions from Cinder. "What are your motives, child?"

"Now, **that** I can't tell you as well." But apparently even Cinder had her own secrets to keep. Still, she had some ideas on how to keep the interest flowing between them. Crossing her arms together, she kept up the talk with a hunch about their unwelcome guest. "But it seems that you're willing to use our power for radical intentions."

"Do you know what this power is?" Her attention was given. Cinder reeled her in for more answers.

"Oh, it's really easy to find. In fact, we just showed you a little taste of it."

Madame Odius' desire had just increased tenfold. Just a little taste of power. That certainly meant that there was a huge abundance of it across the world. She just had to get her hands on it and all she needed was how to get it.

"You see, what you witnessed was all possible is thanks to the power of Aura." Cinder's explanation of the power Odius so sought after was now reaching a new peak with her mentioning of its name. It must be really important if it was given a name.

"Aura, you say?" She tapped her fingers together like some mad genius reaching for her potions.

"An energy that surrounds us. We of this world use this power to all sorts of things. Build. Make. Help… Destroy." And the word 'destroy' was more than enough to give Madame Odius the stuff she needed to confirm that she came to the right place. However, these children were still not to be trusted to help her. Telling her of the power of Aura only did so much to build trust between the two parties.

"Do you wish to heed this power?" asked Cinder.

"In a way, yes." Cinder's eyebrow went upwards, curious as to how Madame Odius would put her quest for the Aura. "For now, I am carrying out a mission for a powerful champion. He is the one seeking out this energy."

"A champion?" Emerald jumped in at the revelation of Madame Odius' master. Just how powerful was this champion of hers? "What kind of champion?"

"A warrior of great strength and pride. He has sent me to find this power that you call Aura. And he has plans on using it."

The black-haired woman's suspicions were hitting the mark. So it was true that she was not being the centre of a plot, but rather the pawn of one. A champion searching for more power was a recipe for chaos and destruction.

Perfect.

"So… you're an underling?" inquired Mercury.

"Call me an advisor of sorts." Even so, the fact that she was serving a champion and still had tremendous power in her own right was more than enough to instil some nervous feelings to the two younger humans.

"And what might these plans be?" Cinder tried again with her attempt to find out about Madame Odius' motives. She wanted to know what kind of scheme her kind could be hatching at this very moment. More importantly, she also needed to know if she could align her own goals with hers. Could this possible intrusion of evil be useful for inciting her revolution to overthrow her enemies? There was only one way to find out,and that was to keep on asking. She was sure that something will prove to be of use to her in the end. "Would it happen to spread chaos?"

"Ahhh… Such intriguing questions. It is almost as if you know the answer already." said Odius.

"Oh, I know very much of what your champion wants. He wants control. He wants fame. He wants to rule all." There was no denying that Galvanax was the ever typical tyrant who seeks for control wherever he may go or whatever he could to take it. It was a simple concept for Cinder; cliché to put it bluntly. "Our goals are aligned. This whole world is a mess and we wish to grow more powerful to change it to our favour. Through chaos and darkness, we can achieve our victory over this world. Through the power of our own dark Aura."

Cinder slowly walked away from Madame Odius as she came to a close to her speech.

"But tell me. Do you really want to give this power to your master?" "Or is it **you** who intends on getting it?" Madame Odius clapped once when Cinder broke through her secretive intentions. The way she pursued to find out about Aura was a little too... obsessive. She just could not even hold still to find the answers she needed. Also, Cinder could even feel the intent in Odius' spirit, just indulging for more information but that wanting was more directed towards herself and not the champion she served.

"You can see through my deception." admitted Madame Odius. "You are indeed special, child."

Things were coming together quite nicely for Cinder. Now all she had to do was to make their two goals into something mutually beneficial for both sides.

"Perhaps we can work something out." She tapped her chin with a grin on her face. An idea so mischievous, so dangerous and destructive, it might just work. "Maybe… we can work together."

"What is in it for you?" Madame Odius was now back to being curious at this human's demands. Just a while ago, these three humans tried to subdue her, took out her troops and now began questioning her like a prisoner of war after being burnt up. Now, here was this lone woman, requesting to join forces with her. Or rather Galvanax, considering that this discussion was now being extended to include the mighty warrior himself.

It was quite baffling indeed, especially for Mercury and Emerald. Could Cinder really have the guts to make friends with a being they've never seen before?

"We, too, desire to take over this world, and we are currently on our way to do so." explained the cold-hearted woman. However, there was now a frown on her face. Odius saw this as a sign of opposition. An obstacle that stood in the way of her new acquaintances. "But there is one force that stands in our way."

"What could possibly stop a bunch of powerful children such as yourselves?" asked Madame Odius. Slightly flattered by her remark, Cinder went ahead and reveal to her the bane of existence.

"They're the Huntsmen and Huntresses. Meddling little kids wandering around spoiling our plans. They prove to be quite… annoying. Recently they were successful in thwarting one of our plans to take over the city of Vale where we are now."

Madame Odius could not deny it. She felt the same way with this poor lass. It so happened that a bunch of other meddling kids used to ruin her day too. Naturally, she was starting to feel more inclined to working with these dark souls.

"And what do you want me to do?" questioned the alien mage. Cinder turned back around and faced Odius.

"You said you are working for a champion. Then I suppose you have an army or something?"

"Yes… We have troops that can wreak havoc to any system we travel to." Madame Odius acknowledged to Cinder of her manpower. " _If only they'd be more competent to defeat those pesky Rangers…_ "

Cinder grinned again. Things kept getting better and better with each passing reveal. Summoning those Kudabots to fight her team was impressive enough, but hearing that Odius had more from her master, her plans were getting more plausible as well.

She had heard enough. Now, it was time to bring in two like-minded forces together to begin her master plan.

"Then we would like to propose an alliance." she began. "You and I can work together to achieve what we want." She came closer to Madame Odius, hoping to strike a deal. "Help us and send your armies to defeat the Huntsmen and Huntresses and we will give you what you want. At the end, you'll be able to take your prize all to yourself."

"Mmmm…" Madame Odius put some thought to this rather tempting offer. She had to think about what she could gain from this alliance with these humans and what could go wrong if she refused. If she agreed to join them, then what would Galvanax do when he would find out that she had struck a deal with humans?

Then again, these humans did have the same dark power that Galvanax so wanted in the first place. She did agree to do whatever it took to 'give' him that power. Perhaps she could find a way to excuse herself from any punishment for dealing with a bunch of cockroaches.

"So, do we have a deal?" The alien looked back at Cinder, who extended her hand out to seal the deal. After a while to think, Madame Odius came up with her answer.

"Very well." And thus, the two sides came forward to formally agree on a partnership to deal with whatever may stop them from achieving their evil ambitions. The two beings shook hands, accepting that though they were different, they still had a mutual view on total dominance of this world. "This will be an interesting event."

"I agree." They both broke off after forming their alliance. Meanwhile, Mercury and Emerald were standing at the back watching the exchange. As shocked as they were about how Cinder nailed it at negotiating with this weirdo, they had to admit; Cinder was always one with the nefarious plans she had formulated for a while now.

With their settlements done, Madame Odius made ready to finally depart and report to Galvanax about her successful attempt at finding a worthy contact to show them around and work with.

"I shall inform my master about this arrangement. Reinforcements will be sure to arrive. You know how to find me." She informed the team.

"We'll be waiting." added Cinder. Finally, after a rough night of fighting and conversing, the two sides had to part ways and settle in for the night to prepare for a promising tomorrow. Madame Odius walked away and, in a cloud of purple smoke, she disappeared into the night.

Cinder watched as the wizard vanish, smiling with satisfaction. She then gathered her teammates and headed off to finally call it a night. Tonight truly proved to be a strange night, even in her standards. Nevertheless, she was willing to move on and plan out what she could be facing next. Her adversaries had better be ready, because this was going to be one more step towards her ultimate fulfilment.

"Uh, Cinder?" Suddenly, Emerald came to her side and asked her a question that sounded pessimistic to her. "Pardon me for asking, but are you sure we want to be in league with these… creatures?"

"Yeah." agreed Mercury. "She does kind of creep me out. And how do we know if we can trust her to help us?"

"In fact, why **do** you want her to help us?"

Clearly annoyed by their questions, Cinder raised her hand to silence the two. A mischievous grin crept up her face with a cold thought in her head. Knowing Cinder, her teammates could tell that she had some deeper twists in mind for this scheme involving their new allies.

"It's very simple." she said. "Since she has an army, then it must be an army powerful enough to devastate an entire world. We'll let this… creature join us. If we manage to find out what she knows, then we could find something of use for us with her forces."

Mercury and Emerald looked at each other, with their smiles now evident and their thoughts growing with excitement of the cruel kind.

"Besides, I'm pretty sure that whoever we will be dealing with… could just be our asset on fulfilling our cause much faster than intended."

Apparently, when Cinder said that her plan to take over Vale was a failure thanks to the combined efforts of the Huntsmen and Huntresses, it was merely a ploy. The so-called Breach of Vale was in fact more of a success than a failure to her. And now, she just gave herself yet another set of cards to play out with. It was only a matter of time before she could draw them out and move forward with her plans to achieve her ultimate goal.

However, she was not alone…

* * *

Outside the city, not too far away from where she had encountered her new allies, Madame Odius found herself in a pier; an empty one with no one and nothing in sight other than the calm seawater and leftover crates on the jetties.

She chose to set herself down on one of the crates and pulled out a wrist device wrapped around her right arm. She pressed on it and proceeded to call someone to report on her mission.

"Great Galvanax." she called. "Can you hear me?" After a while, there was no response. Must had been from the radio wave interference given off by the lingering gravitational forces made by the broken moon above her. But after waiting for a bit, her call was answered.

" _Madame Odius_?" It was the voice of her master. " _Is that you_?"

"Yes, my champion." responded Madame Odius.

" _Where have you been?!_ " Suddenly, Galvanax threw a nasty shout at her. No surprise there, however. She knew he'd be furious after forcing him to wait for so long. " _It has been a month since you departed my ship! This'd better be good news!_ "

"Indeed, sir." She hesitated briefly. Could Galvanax accept what she did, or would she be on the way to being punished by the champion for making a deal with humans?

No. She had to go on. If Galvanax wanted the power of Aura, he would need to know what she had to offer.

"I have located the power source you need." she reported to Galvanax.

" _Go on_." Galvanax's voice began to slow to a calm but inquisitive tone.

"I managed to find out that it comes from this very planet. The humans here use it to become powerful fighters. I believe this power could be the solution to our problems."

" _Excellent_." Galvanax's voice sounded very pleased, but what he asked next was a little more than Odius bargained for. " _How did you come by this information?_ "

"I… uh…"

" _Odius…_ "

"I may have… settled a deal with some humans…"

" _You WHAT?!_ " Her face reeled in shock and fear. She knew this was coming. And she could had sworn that she heard a loud bang on the other end of the call.

Madame Odius had to hurry. This would not end well if she did not explain herself.

"Calm down, sir!" She attempted to give her master the story, hoping he would take the time to listen for her sake. "It's not what you think."

" _You have just seconds to give me a reason why I should not tear you apart!_ " yelled the champion. Odius composed herself as best as she could before giving her master what he wanted.

"These humans. They are actually… very workable. They claim to have much knowledge and even skill in the dark form of this power. They even have a name for it. Aura it what they call it. A promising feat. And these humans I have made contact with, they appear to have the same darkness that you thrive with!"

" _Ergh…_ " Galvanax still sounded quite angry at Odius seemingly betrayal, but after eharing her out just this once, he seemed to have calmed down to see reason in the evil mage's words. " _And how would you know if we can trust these humans?_ "

"Oh. I know, master." She nodded surely, assuring to Galvanax that she had things well under control. "They possess the same diabolical power and spirit that make you the reigning champion of Galaxy Warriors. They can be worth working with."

Finally, after a brief temper tantrum, Galvanax spoke up again, now calmer after listening to Madame Odius' claims. That was close, she thought. She would not want to end up in the arena to fight endless waves of ruthless fighters before she had to suffer under the might of Galvanax.

" _Very well. I shall trust you this once._ " Galvanax declared. " _But remember this. That if you choose to betray me again, you shall suffer the consequences_."

"Understood, sir." acknowledged Madame Odius. "Do send a transport to pick me up. And I shall give you the details."

" _Good. I'll be expecting you._ " Finally, the call ended after some static was heard. Putting off her DataComm, Madame Odius looked towards the disfigured moon orbiting the planet. Tomorrow was going to be another day of evil plans.

But her deceptive ways were still in check. She was willing to exploit the power of Aura on her own and, with enough of it, she could usurp Galvanax's throne and become the ultimate warrior the universe shall love and fear.

"My plan is coming to motion at last. Soon, Galvanax, oh mighty champion, you shall be no more. There could only be one. And that… will be me…"


	3. An Alien in Forever Fall

**CHAPTER 2: An Alien in Forever Fall**

 **It hasn't been easy writing the RWBY-style fight scenes since they look so awesome, yet so much faster in the series. I have been more used to writing Power Rangers fight scenes since the choreography is much simpler and easier to follow. But I did my best to at least make something decent. Hopefully, I can do better in the future.**

 **Remnant**

It was now a bright day since the mysterious circumstances that happened the night before. The city square had been reopened one month after the tragic attack by the creatures of Grimm, but the scene was still being monitored by a platoon of white armoured robotic soldiers armed with an assault rifle each, standing guard and watching out for any more signs of trouble or strife.

People were once again able to enjoy the serenity of the clean square, free from any beasts of darkness from miles around. But unbeknownst to them and the authorities, things were about to get a whole lot worse really fast.

A month after the tragedy of the Breach, everyone was to be on high alert for any signs of malicious intent, preferably any shady figure like a common gangster or probably an even more dangerous member of the White Fang who could be up to no good.

For now, though, everything seemed to be quite docile. Not a single mishap or danger in sight other than the usual everyday problems of the busy city. All was normal in the city of Vale.

Except for one person…

Outside the city walls, the land was covered in thick patches of forest and cliffs. It would look like a nice peaceful place to be, just sit around and enjoy the fresh air of the wilderness.

Unless the sounds of slicing and flesh being ripped out in rapid succession were to be called peaceful…

The forest was riddled with faint sounds of slashing and even loud bangs were heard over the distance, scaring off flocks of birds from their homes. No one was in sight to monitor the event, but then again, none would have to worry either.

A battle was being waged between two unlikely foes. On one side, there were packs of large dark beasts with white bone masks patterned with red lines and yellow glowing eyes poised for the kill. But even with all their ferocity, they were simply no match against the prey they were trying to hunt down.

One by one, these beasts were all cut down to pieces or shot down with gaping wounds to their bodies. Like an army on a rampage, their hunting target was no pushover, with loads of attacks here and there, killing off one Grimm at a time.

What would surprise most was the fact that this was not the work of an army or even a hunting party loaded to the brim with guns, swords and enough manpower to defend a whole colony.

These beasts were being destroyed… by an energetic little girl hyped up for action.

She never wanted to just sit around and wait for the damages to be repaired and the chaos passed on. Especially since a brewing tournament was almost two months away and she needed to prepare for the epic matches ahead.

With nothing more to do, given that it was her day off, a young girl with her signature red hood and even more formidable scythe thought that the Grimm would serve excellent target practice. Showing off her prowess in battle by spinning her scythe in violent speeds, she did, however, flourished her weapon around with surprising grace and balance in her spins. Like a baseball player with a mighty but steady swing, or perhaps even a sharpshooter with a high-velocity rifle to bring both the heavy damage and the perfect hit.

That was practically the girl in her own right. Hard-hitting and graceful flow of swings. A deadly combination. Fortunately, only the Grimm would face her wrath.

The young Ruby Rose was about to finish off these deadly beasts without breaking a sweat.

"Okay, you Grimm!" she exclaimed with a burning fire in her soul. "Just try to keep up and I'll let the heads fly!"

She aimed the scythe that was almost twice her own body height, pointing the tip of the weapon at the charging wolf-like monsters heading her way. In one blinding dash, the girl charged for the pack and sped out like a dart, with the soft and wavy cloak trailing along for the ride and leaving behind a shower of rose petals behind her.

In the blink of an eye, the Huntress-in-training clashed with the Grimm and was already swinging at them with one surprisingly lightning fast swing for such a huge weapon. The first Grimm she laid her eyes on, she sliced it up before it could even react, cutting of an arm and instantly killing it off.

She was within the other Grimm's sights for a short time, allowing them to try and attack her with their huge deadly claws, but the rapid fast Huntress cruised through the strikes without harm.

Within her path of escape, she spun crazily through another cluster of Beowolves while her scythe made short work of every one of them down. She made a landing afterwards, dragging across the ground to see the carnage she ensued upon her equally murderous attackers. The trail of severed corpses littered her path, followed by the new arrivals of more Beowolves. They all crept up into formation, waiting for each other so they could all charge in and slaughter the seemingly small and innocent little girl. Their bloodthirsty gazes and glowing yellow eyes all honed in on Ruby, bent on getting their kill. The odds were apparently against her.

"Oh dear…" Nonetheless, Ruby sighed sarcastically and covered her mouth with her free hand, still unfazed by the growing numbers. "Ten of you big and scary Beowolves, against little ol' me! Can a defenceless girl like me do be free of this wretched torment?!" She continued to spin around, weeping mockingly like a damsel in distress, using her scythe to balance herself as she turned.

As soon as she stopped, she cracked a wicked grin. Forget damsel in distress. This was exactly the fun she was waiting for.

"Watch me." That was all she said, but with a snarky comment, it was enough to show that she was going to bring the pain, really badly… for the Grimm.

The beasts charged forward, mouths salivating with hunger in their minds. Their jaws all opened wide for the kill, grunting and howling along the way.

But Ruby was ready for them. She bent forward, raising her Crescent Rose up and waited for the right moment to strike.

Three Beowolves were already right in front of her; their jaws itching to bite her down. However, there was nothing they could do to stop her.

Ruby unleashed her weapon at them, swinging it and cutting the Beowolves one at a time practically with each second passed. Her curved blade crippled through the ten Beowolves with remarkable speed, leaving another ten Beowolves for her to finish off.

Before she knew it, one Beowolf managed to catch her off guard and proceeded to lunge its claws at her.

Right before the claws reached her, Ruby bounced out of the way before she could be met with a fatal blow to her face, jumping right over the creature. While in mid-air, she held her scythe so that the tip was pointed straight at the Beowolf that attacked her. Then, in a stunning twist, the Crescent Rose began to transform. The blades retracted into the armoured plates and the body of the weapon contracted itself into a smaller shape. The hilt was pulled in and soon, Ruby held the grip at the end.

The scythe was turned into a rifle, with Ruby aiming it at the lone Grimm down below. The way she slowed her airborne spinning and the fact that she was holding the gun with one hand made it truly incredible for any common folk. With the pull of the trigger, she let loose a powerful bullet that zoomed towards the Beowolf.

It immediately hit the creature with such velocity it could tear its guts out with one shot. The Grimm could not anticipate the shot and was soon blasted by the gun. The high-velocity bullet tore right through the skin, piercing into its flesh and into its insides. Eventually, the bullet shot right out of the creature's stomach, ramming onto the ground with practically the same speed as it had when fired.

In short, the Grimm was eviscerated by the lone bullet, with the impact violent enough to break it into a diagonal cut, splitting it into two. The two halves of the body fell, leaving behind a smoking trail from where the bullet landed on.

Ruby landed on the ground, satisfied with her successful hit. Now, it was the rest of the pack's turn to taste her wrath. She aimed her rifle towards the other Beowolves in the forest and cocked the gun, loading in the next round. Within a split second, she fired another shot at the next Beowolf closest to her, gunning it down with same force and power to slice it apart.

Ruby continued to let it rip and fired her gun over and over again, shooting in half a second and then cocking the weapon back and forth in the next. All of those shots never missed their mark, obliterating all of the Grimm she could shoot down.

Eventually, at one point, she pulled the trigger again. However, instead of a loud bang and the heavy recoil of firing a high-powered shot, she felt nothing, hearing only a faint click each time she pulled it. She was out of juice.

But that was alright, she thought. Just load up another cartridge. She did so, pulling out a fresh new magazine from her satchel clipped to her belt before discarding the old one locked into her scythe. She then reloaded her gun and cocked it again. She was ready for some more action, with a new bunch of rounds set to sweep up the soulless predators again.

A new pack of Beowolves emerged from the forest. Now, they were surrounding the young Huntress during her reloading. Ruby looked all around her, watching all of them circle her in a slow creeping stance as they walked. While they corralled around her, Ruby converted her gun back to its scythe mode. She eyed each of them, waiting for the right moment to defend herself.

Then, with a loud gruelling bark, one of the Beowolves ran forward and attempted to pounce the human from behind her. Just as she predicted…

"Gotcha!" Ruby stepped out of the way just in time, letting the Grimm jump right past her. Within that brief moment, the Huntress immediately got to action. She swung her scythe down while the creature was right next to her, pinning it down so the curved blade could catch the top of its neck. Then, once the blade pierced the ground, keeping the monster's head down with it, she pulled the trigger that was still on the hilt of the weapon, firing another round from the tip of the scythe.

The force of the blast, coupled with a loss of weight using her Semblance of speed, propelled her all the way to her left in a split second. Unfortunately for the trapped monster, the sudden thrust was more than enough for the blade to slice its head off, leaving behind its decapitated body and a long crack on the ground from the scythe dragging across the ground as Ruby sped off.

Immediately as she slowed down, she made for a nearby tree and pushed her two feet against it. With a strong push of her legs, she bounced right off, zooming in another rosy sprint of blinding speed. Like a comet, she speared right for another Grimm. She swung her weapon again, cutting it in half, before cutting off the arm of another Beowolf behind the former one.

As she slowed, she rolled on the ground while slicing up another Beowolf just behind her two previous kills.

With no time to stop, she continued her mad dashing abilities to dismember more of the Beowolves, spinning her weapon like using a baton in a marching band, skilfully swinging it around and around all over her body and slicing up the next few Beowolves around her.

When she was free, she moved on to the beasts behind the fallen ones. One by one, they pounced on her, but the caped girl fought them off, slicing one Beowolf and then shooting down another. Two came by, she just knocked her scythe on the one in front and crashed it into the other behind it.

Suddenly, she heard the bone-chilling sounds of roars coming from above her. She thrust her head upwards to find three more wolves raining above her. Their bloodlust fuelled their rage and hunger for her flesh, but even their appetite was not enough to rule over the fighter's skills. All at once, the creatures crashed onto the ground, feeling that they managed to squash their prey down to where they wanted her to be. Still, not a chance.

Their prey was already high up in the air after speeding upwards the moment their claws were inches away from her. And now that she was airborne, there was one way this could end.

Crescent Rose in check, all she did was one hard-felt dive and a devastating slash to all three Beowolves. and for better results, after she landed, she spun around and swung her scythe to inflict further dismemberment. The creatures all fell to the ground in pieces, leaving Ruby to swirl around and hold the scythe to her back after stopping.

She stayed in her victorious pose for a little while, waiting to make sure if she left anything else. Just when she thought it was over…

 **BANG!**

 **ARRRWOO!**

 **SPLAT!**

Yep. All done.

After shooting down that last Beowolf, she spun her scythe again and folded it into its inactive form before locking it to the back of her belt. She made one last grin at all the fallen bodies, or at least what's left of them, all around the once pure green grass, now reddened with blots of Grimm blood.

It's a good thing these things don't have souls, or it'd be genocide if Ruby knew any better.

"And that's how you do it, Ruby-style~" Alas, she gloated in a sing-song voice while waving with her two fingers of her right hand up. "Now, I gotta get back to the others."

With her hunting done, it was now time to pack up and head back to her team of friends somewhere in the forest. On her way there, she walked her way deep into the trees, stepping over the remains of her ironically murderous victims, which then began to evaporate into ashes and disappear into nothingness.

For Ruby, though, the less these creatures were, the better. As she walked on, all she could do was keep an eye out for more, when her mind was filled with more desire to fight.

She couldn't help but poke fun at a particular moment in her battle. _'A defenceless girl'_ , _'be free of this torment'_. She sworn, this was what she got for sharing a dorm with a bookworm like Blake, her rather quiet teammate.

Speaking of her teammates, she had to head back and reunite with them before sun down, for the sun itself was getting ready to set down over the horizon, signalling the end of her mission.

It was not officially a mission given to them by their academy's teachers, but just a little fun activity for the team to do before the upcoming Vytal Tournament in a few months' time.

But it was without some significance to the city's safety. As far as Ruby was concerned, she overheard some talk from soldiers overseeing the city's protection that more of the Grimm were dangerously close to the city walls since the Breach.

To Ruby, it was such a fortunate stroke of luck that she overheard those men. It wasn't like, as her friends falsely accused her of, she was just snooping around, purposely listening in to people's conversations or anything, right? That would just be…

Yeah, she had to admit, she was being nosy.

What was she supposed to do? There was almost nothing exciting to do back at Beacon Academy, especially sitting around listening to Professor Oobleck's sleep-inducing lectures and Professor Port's boring stories. Even the one class she would be head over heels for, fighting classes, were just not enough.

There just had to be one little activity that she would gladly take on, something that was legit exciting. Legit, in **her** terms.

That meant, going nuts with Crescent Rose against something killable. So, who better to be the sacrifice than the beasts of Grimm? Lifeless abominations with only death and destruction in their dark minds. They weren't really worth leaving behind to haunt the forest.

Of course, she still had to be mindful, for not every Grimm was some violent husk of death. She would have to be mindful of the other more powerful forms of Grimm that were more intelligent than the Beowolves she fought against.

The beasts of Grimm may not have souls, but they were not without brains. And a Grimm with intelligence was worth avoiding.

Luckily, nothing of the sort was ever faced so far. Thankfully, all she had come across were just ordinary and easy Beowolves. And a flying Nevermore, but as her sister would ridiculously put it, that Grimm was, ahem, 'never more'.

Puns aside, her overall hunting trip of the day went off really well. A much needed break from the stresses of her time at Beacon. All good things had to come to an end though. It was time to head home and rest up before the next day of classes.

Even as she thought her day was done, any surprises were welcome for her.

But nothing could prepare her for what was about to happen next.

"Huh?"

A sound was heard. Ruby stopped moving for a second and looked around, ears now listening in for what that weird noise was. After a moment of tuning in, she could slowly pick up to what it sounded like, and made some small suggestions of what could be lurking just beyond.

Weird chattering noises. Like a high-pitched choir of rats squeaking about.

Soft, but heavy footsteps stepping all around. Could it be an army marching along?

A lone blabbering noise. Sounded like some jerk was giving out orders.

There was nothing else she could do to describe what was making those sounds. With not enough details or even a solid guess, Ruby made her way to where the source of the sounds came from.

She headed towards some thick bushes which she thought of hiding in to peek through and see what was going on. You could never know who was over there or what they would be willing to do to you. Ruby knew that well enough to stay quiet and investigate; something quite out of her character.

She dug through the thick vegetation, hearing the mysterious sounds getting louder as she neared. When she managed to get close enough, she peeked through the bushes and saw what was there.

Needless to say, it was the most baffling sight of all in her days as a Huntress. Nothing she had ever seen before.

~ _Dear Monty!~_ she thought in her head.

There they were. A group of six blue men, dressed in warrior outfits and wearing black fisherman hats or wolf head-shaped helmets, armed with outdated arquebus and bizarre-looking spears, trekking the forest in a messy formation, something like a hunting party. Ruby took a closer look at their faces. What she saw only added to the confusion. A blue mask and stuck on that mask was a wide mouth perfectly straight and the lips somewhat partially stuck together, revealing teeth that budded out of the mouth.

There were even more surprises in store for Ruby. Just beside the marching soldiers, there was one huge creature walking alongside the troops. He looked like some sort of giant wrecking ball with arms and legs. The appendages were covered in golden armour pads and his arms were different made into two scythe-like blades slight smaller than Crescent Rose herself. His head, monstrously spiked, and yellow eyes furrowed in an angry posture, stuck out from the very center of his spherical body. On top of him was a large stud that was reminiscent of a huge button. **(A/N~ This is the character Bomb Shadow from Ressha Sentai ToQger)**

This was all a huge discovery for Ruby. She had never expected to find such extraordinary-looking monsters in this forest. The only monsters she thought she could find here were the Grimm. Now, she was facing a bunch of new humanoid creatures that were merely… out of this world.

The arquebus and spears those weird blue soldiers were armed with were unlike anything even a weapons enthusiast like Ruby could identify. How she could pick out the diamond-like material of the spear blades which shone with the Sun's rays reflecting on them, and the design of the muskets, though apparently ancient-looking, sported some spikes underneath them.

Ruby just couldn't put a finger on the arrival of these abnormal beings. What were they? Where did they come from? Were they associated with the Grimm or were they a new kind of gang of bandits that roam around the lands between the kingdom's cities? In fact, she did not even know if these things were friend or foe.

" _What in Remnant are those things?_ " She covered her mouth, quietly whispering to avoid attracting too much attention.

All those questions flooded her head at once, making Ruby feel very dizzy from what was happening in front of her eyes. Faced with a huge dilemma on what to do; either face them head on, just wait and tell her friends and those in charge of what she found, or just let them be on their way, Ruby needed to act fast.

" _This looks bad._ "

Soon, given their monstrous appearances and the unknowing of what they were capable of, Ruby had to go with the plan to find her team and pick up from there. Maybe they would have an idea to what she could do with these unknown strangers.

Doing as best she could to remain discreet, she slowly wriggled her way from out of the bush, reversing while trying to prevent any audible rustling and hoping that these creatures did not have good hearing.

She managed to get out of the bush. Looking back to where the creatures were patrolling, she waited in caution, making sure that those things did not catch on to her movements. She stayed put for a little bit, hand moving towards Crescent Rose behind her back in case her cover was blown.

After a few seconds, finally, a sigh of relief. Nothing happened. She could only hear the footsteps of the strange beings getting quieter and quieter, suggesting to her that they were finally leaving the scene.

Ruby was now convinced that she was safe. Now, she planned to move on to gather her team. She was still shaking from the sudden discovery, trying to compose herself to stay her course of action.

"Okay! Calm down, Ruby." She groaned to herself. "Just relax. All I got to do now is call the others and tell them of what's going on." "I sure hope nothing terrible happens."

She backed away, resorting to silently step away from the patrol and running off to use her Semblance to dash her way out of the area. She inched backwards, eyes still fixed on the direction of the monsters without even turning around for extra assurance that she would be able to escape undetected.

 **KRAK!**

"YIP!" Unfortunately, she did not watch where she was going. Her nerves shocked up with the sudden cracking sound of a stray tree branch on the ground, prompting her to yelp slightly from the shock.

"What was that?!" To add to her misfortune, the shrilling voice of the walking wrecking ball monster told her that her attempt to escape quietly had been thwarted.

The gigantic bomb-like creature groaned in disapproval upon seeing that his crew were just watching over aimlessly at his call. He slapped his own head dumbfounded, wondering why did they not just listen to a very obvious snap sound in an otherwise quiet scene.

"Turn around, you numbskulls! Didn't you hear something snap?" He went over to one of the lost Bashers and proceeded to bash it on the head with his scythe-like hands, rendering it dizzy while rubbing its head in pain.

"Don't just stand there!" bellowed the monster. "Search that way!" He pointed towards the location he wanted them to go. The squad complied, marching their way towards the same designated spot the creature told them to go to.

Towards Ruby.

Ruby was running out of time. In a panic, she quickly hid back into the bushes before the Kudabots and Bashers could even start their investigation. She looked out the tiny opening of the leaves to look back at the soldiers making their way towards her. Ruby ducked down even lower, hoping that they would just pass by and ignore her hiding place.

The Kudabots took their time to look around, finding wherever place they could. The boss behind them just moaned disappointingly again, infuriated even more by their continuing lack of direction. After all, they did not even hear the sound to begin with, so how the heck would they know where their leader was referring to.

The girl hiding down was praying for dear life that she would not be caught by the strange monsters. Just thinking about what they would do to her was enough to give her very nerve-wrecking chills. She could feel her body shiver as the creatures got much closer to the bush.

Much to her chagrin, one of them stood right in front of her; two boots stepping inches away from her face.

Ruby bent down further, backing up very slightly. She really wanted to bail out and warn her friends, but the situation demanded her to remain silent and hope for all she could of these creatures to simply leave the area. She could always fight them. After all, she did just kill packs of bloodthirsty Beowolves with no trouble at all.

It was just that these things were just so bizarre. She did not know what to expect from their weapons. Could they powerful enough to blast off her limbs? Vaporize her even? She just could not put a finger on it.

She had to be prepared as well. In the event that she did get caught, she would have to give it her all and fight like a true Huntress. She reached for Crescent Rose at her back, waiting for the moment to strike when the Kudabots would get too close for her taste.

She focused her sights on the lone Kudabot checking the area from its position. Seconds went by, the soldier just kept on being there, with no movement whatsoever. The stable soldier was making Ruby feel quite impatient. Forget silence. Now, her instincts were kicking in again.

Her feet prepared to pounce forward, ready to strike. But then, after a while, the Kudabot's feet began to move again. Fortunately for Ruby, she could see that the creature was moving away from the bush. The oblivious drone was now going further away from her current location.

The hooded girl's anxiety started to vanish. Finally, calmness was restored. She could finally have the space to try and flee for safety, but she still took caution with her movement. She was still within earshot of the creatures and did well to move slowly and make another break for it.

The round giant took his turn to look around after having enough of the Kudabots' incompetence, taking the search to his own hands. As he moved forward to join his men, he suddenly saw something.

"What the-?" There, he could get a good look at what appeared to be some small shaking coming from a bush.

Ruby was only halfway out of the bush when she heard the bellowing brute's voice, forcing her to stop, scared stiff. She could still see the monsters on the other side of her hiding spot. Unfortunately, much to her extreme panic, the big beast was looking right at her and pointed his right arm at her location.

"YIKES!"

 **BRAMM!**

A large laser blast fired from the tip of the monster's abnormal hand, blasting its way for the bush in a split second. The attack reached for the vegetation faster than anyone could figure out what happened and completely disintegrated the bush upon impact.

A loud explosion was sent off, causing the grass and the nearby tree to catch on fire in a bright blaze. The bush itself was no more. Instead, a black blast mark and a thin trail of smoke was all that was left of the plant, and supposedly the human that was hiding within.

Seeing that nothing was there, at least not anymore, the large monster lowered his arm, somewhat amused by his destructive firepower. If anything or anyone was in that bush, then it was tough luck for that goner.

He was about to call the team of Kudabots back into formation, confident that he had taken care of what was watching him and his forces. The underlings all complied to his command, stopping their own search patterns and huddled around their lumbering leader.

"Huh?" Then, from out of nowhere, a small flat piece appeared right in front of him, slowly floating down like a dry leaf in the autumn breeze. However, it was much smaller and looked softer than any leaf. Dropping down and landing on the ground, the flat object landed on the ground below him. The monster bent down to see what it was. It looked like…

A red rose petal.

From out of nowhere, more petals began to flutter about in the calm wind, pouring down on the unsuspecting monsters. They could not figure out what was happening. Indeed, this was a new world with weird creatures and weirder occurrences even for their standards.

All was quiet as the Kudabots and their big brute of a boss stared away at the falling petals, clueless as to what could this mean for them. Probably something to do with the weather, they thought.

But the silence was about to be shattered.

 **BAMM!**

"DARGH!" In an instant, everyone was reeling from the alarming sound of a gunshot coming from above them, forcing them all to scatter and take cover, dropping to the ground in military fashion.

They all fell down, even the bigger monster was able to get down faster than he looked. When they rose back up to find out what had just transpired in the blink of an eye, they planned to watch all over the area.

"What just happened?! Who did that?!" The larger monster roared, shock replaced by anger. He then looked up to find that the shower of petals had finally stopped with all petals having landed on the ground. But something else was about to hit the ground next.

From above, a dark figure emerged from the sky. It then sped towards the ground with such rapid speed, right in the middle of the shaken creatures, and yet landed gracefully and softly with no violent force.

The figure came with a red cape fluttering upwards from its lightning fast descent and revealed herself to be none other than Ruby Rose. Having escaped just in the nick of time, the fifteen-year-old was able to dash with her super speed before the monster could vaporize her. Now fully aware of what kind of creatures she could be dealing with, she was ready to go toe-to-toe with this threatening bunch of weirdos.

She instantly turned to the round-shaped one, pointing her finger at him with a cross look on her face and a tight grip on her deployed battle weapon.

"Just what in the name Zwei's butt are you?!" she demanded. "Some sort of mutated Grimm?! A beast of the underworld?! Talk!" She spun her trusty weapon and pointed its barrel at the monster.

The brutish creature just stared at this unusual sight. A tiny human girl, innocent on the outside with a huge weapon double her size pointed at him with the strictest look on a human's face if he ever saw one. Yep. He's seen some crazy stuff in his time in the Warrior Dome, but this just blew all of that out of proportion.

Still, he then breathed heavily in utter rage. No matter how capable this human could be, how dare this insolent little brat attack him when he wasn't looking! He puffed out a heavy breath of steam before groaning at the Huntress.

"I don't know who you're callin' grim, but I'll show 'ya somethin' that'll make you feel the same way!" He slammed his hooked hand to the ground, showing off his ferocious demeanour. Ruby backed away after the intimidating gesture, with her Crescent Rose still poised to strike. "So, if you know what's good for you, you better turn around and flee, little missy!"

Despite the monster's threat, Ruby stood her ground. All around her, the Kudabots and Bashers took to their positions and surrounded her, closing in with their weapons at the ready. Even with this new standard of battling, she was still determined to give them a fight they'll never forget. This could be a piece of cake. She's fought armed men and women before, so how could a bunch of alien-like creatures be any different.

One tense stare from her gleaming silver eyes was enough to tell the monsters that she meant business.

"Oh... you did **not** just call me 'little missy'!" She began her stance with a threat back to the new enemy. Apparently, she took the offensive word to heart and now her blood was boiling with adrenaline flowing in her body. "That's it... you... you... deformed creature of the deformity... in which you came from!"

Ruby flushed red after such an embarrassing roast. So much for a comeback.

"Wha-?" The brute sighed awkwardly.

"Never mind!" Ruby shook her head to forget the lousy taunt and glanced bravely at the monster again. "Let's just get this started..."

"Your funeral, little human!" The beast himself was also staring at the girl with a cold evil glare. The Kudabots around him steadied themselves to attack Ruby with their weapons pointing at her.

Both sides began watching each other, anticipating on who should make the first move. The longer they stood, the itchier their limbs were in making that first move.

Ruby scanned the blue soldiers for any signs of preparation to fire their weapons, or if the Bashers would step forward to try and clobber her down. She then laid her eyes on the bigger monster just getting ready to aim his hook arms at her.

After studying her opponents, she then looked for an opportunity of her own to take the charge. She looked towards a random group of Kudabots to her right. They were still looking at her, waiting for her to move forward.

If they wanted some action, she'll give it to them. In a burst of speed, Ruby too her chance, acting before anyone could even act themselves.

 **SLASH!**

It wasn't even a second and suddenly one of the Kudabots was cut down by the power of Ruby's massive scythe.

"What?!" The orb-like monster was stunned, taking only another second to respond after one of his men was already taken out. The girl had disappeared in a flash, leaving behind more rose petals to fall on the ground. The rest of the troop was also in a panic after the attack. All they could do was look around flustered by the sudden disappearance of their new foe. After she was gone, they kept searching for wherever she might had gone to, following what was left of her trail of petals.

Then, there was another strike. Like a red blur, something jumped right by within half a second and took out another Basher. The alien soldiers all scattered from the shock of the swift blow, but recovered too late before another one of theirs went down again. It all happened so fast, no one knew what to do within those ten seconds. After that time was up, already five of their men were taken care of.

"Keep your eyes open! Watch out for that… girl…" The alien Commander tried to keep his squad at bay, only to realize that he was already down to five men. Naturally, the remaining Kudabots and Bashers gathered back to their leader, circling him while searching around for their speeding enemy.

Then, as the larger monster looked around, Ruby sped from out of nowhere, fell from above the sky and attempted to strike him from behind. She prepared to swing right from above and take out the bumbling monster with one heavy strike.

 **KLANK!**

Instead of penetrating through the monster's armour, Ruby felt a heavy swing back from her scythe after hitting the metal surface. She spun back after the failed attack, flipping backwards and landing on the ground. She took a good look at the monster's armour and she could not see any visible dent or scratch mark on him.

The brutish beast turned around to find the girl slightly shaken by the successful defence of his hardened shell. The creature turned around to look Ruby in the face while chuckling in a gloating grin, followed by the rest of his troop.

"Nice try, girly!" he taunted. "But nothing can penetrate the iron-hard steel of Toma Bomba! Not even your puny scythe!"

Ruby cringed after her failed attempt at landing a critical blow on the lead monster. On the other hand, her left brow furrowed upwards when she replayed his name in her head.

Toma Bomba? What kind of ridiculous name was that? Anyway, Ruby had to act fast now that her scythe proved to be of little help against such durable armour. Perhaps she needed a little more punch to her power in her attacks.

She tried a new approach, choosing to keep up her stance and attack the monster head on again. This time, she aimed for the short and thick head instead. Given that the rest of his body was fully protected by armoured plating, she deduced that the weak point would be that head where the surface looked quite thin compared to all of his other parts.

Once again, Ruby flicked her cape up and used the power of her extreme speed to race for Toma Bomba's head. She brought her weapon to her side before swinging it towards it. Toma Bomba saw the incoming blade reach for him and immediately defended himself from harm, using his hooked hands to block her attack. Despite the slow speed of the arms, his durability more than made up for it as he stopped Crescent Rose from inflicting damage.

Ruby landed on the ground and proceeded to try again from another side. Again, the move failed. She tried again and again. In some hits, she was able to land a few hits on the monster's head and was able to push the leader back with pain.

But more often than not, the monster's own limbs were able to successfully defend himself with his slow moves against her own quick swings.

Despite her hits on the monster's supposed weak spot, there was not much progress in hurting him down to a pulp. She would have to change her tactics hurriedly to switch up her advantage.

Ruby leapt back away to safety and converted her weapon back to its rifle state. If her scythe wouldn't work, then maybe her high-piercing bullets would. It was worth a shot, literally.

She got to work, firing her gun at Toma Bomba while still in mid-air. The heavy bullets were hitting the monster with enough force to push him back with each shot.

Nevertheless, he was only knocked back a few inches from every shot taken. Worse still, the armour could finally be dented, visible in lumps punched into his body, but nothing too serious for the monster. Toma Bomba did feel the pressure of each shot threatening to punch through the thick iron shell.

Ruby touched down from her aerial attack and transformed her weapon again. She stuck the tip of her scythe's curved blade into the ground, turning it into a bipod to stabilize her weapon's stance. She fired her weapon with a steady aim, pinning Toma Bomba down with her faster firepower thanks to her more stable position.

The alien was forced to withstand the blows by covering his face with his hard steeled hands. The bullets continued to knock heavily on the monster's hooked hands, each bullet pushing them back and forced to bump at his own face and slowly exposing his vulnerable body. If this kept up, his guard would be broken and the bullets would be able to break his face apart.

Suddenly, Toma Bomba felt the heavy force of the bullets were no more. He opened up his eyes to see that Ruby had stopped firing her weapon. He could have sworn he heard the soothing sounds of clicking sounds coming from her location. He could easily see that Ruby was looking through her belt for something.

She was out of ammo. Ruby had to find a new cartridge before Toma Bomba would react and make his own move. She found her new magazine and hurried to reload. But as soon as she was about to place the ammo in, she was alarmed to find her foe coming right at her.

"Yikes!" Without much time to reload, she cancelled out her attempt and moved out of the way before the big brute charged his body at her. She safely rolled away before the creature could do her in. Toma Bomba missed his mark and it forced him to drag his feet on the ground to stop his rush, leaving behind a pair of deep thin ditches on the ground below from his feet.

However, while Ruby moved out of the way, she had dropped her rifle cartridge before she could even lock it in, losing her chance to take more shots at attacking her opponent with her strongest asset yet. With no other option, she had to go back to the close-quarter offensive.

Toma Bomba dragged his right foot back and swung the dirt off behind before going back to do it again over and over like a bull ready to ram over a matador. Like the latter, Ruby too inching the hand holding Crescent Rose behind her and stepped back to anticipate another run by the raging monster.

Her enemy was already on the run, ducking his head down and letting his whole weight push his forward to try and crush his foe again. At full speed, he threw himself at Ruby.

The Huntress-in-training immediately shifted away before the brute could hit her. But as she did so, she looked to the monster's legs and moved her scythe down for the blade to catch them. Toma Bomba felt the sharp edge of the blade cut through and he tripped over, tumbling down in a huge crash and rolling forward.

As he was down, Ruby prepared to load up another new cartridge to her weapon to shoot at him. Once she was done, she prepared to meet her foe face-to-face so she could fire one good round at him.

Suddenly, once she was loaded, she was met with more blistering laser bolts, forcing her to jump away from Toma Bomba and retreat to the safety of the trees. She quickly hid behind one tree and stayed there. She breathed in and out, catching her breath from the close shave with the lasers while also mentally cursing at herself for letting the remaining minions slip her mind like that.

She peered over the trunk, lasers still blazing. With much luck, she was able to find the formation of Kudabots firing at her. Her frustration grew when she caught Toma Bomba rising up to his feet and walking towards the Kudabots.

"That's right, boys." commented the leader. "Rain down on that insolent little child!"

Ruby hid her head back to cover, hoping the frenzy could just end up already. She squeezed the hilt of her weapon, feeling practically constricted by her inability to even move an inch away from her safe spot.

One laser blast seared through the trunk just millimetres away from her face, prompting her to jerk to the opposite side. In another second, another shot to the other side. All around, she was getting pinned by ongoing blaster fire. After each shot, she felt her odds were slimming down.

After a while, she could hear nothing. The enemy fire had halted, bringing a moment of peace and quiet. At that moment, Ruby could finally try and calm down. Her head back in the game, she knew she had to do something. It was time to pull out her next move and take out the rest of the underlings before she could get back at their fat bozo of a leader.

"It's now or never. Please by Oum's grace I'll survive this…" She prayed to herself. Before the Kudabots could fire again, she took out the last cartridge of Dust-powered bullets from her belt. Finally, she then swallowed up her bravery and came out from behind the tree and made a speedy run for her foes.

"Open fire, you lousy dolts!" Toma Bomba was immediately distressed by Ruby's sudden emergence and yelled at his men to hurry up with their reloading. Too little too late.

Ruby was like a comet, zooming at extreme speeds with petals flying off behind her. She was in range to take one on, stopping and sliced it up with one clean cut from below. When the Bashers came forth, they swung their blades at her, trying to spear her down.

One Basher lunged forward while another came from the other side for a slash. Ruby instinctively made a move for the Basher closer to her, stepping a little to the side and catching the yari spear with her blade.

When the other Basher came, she spun her scythe so hard that the Basher caught by her blade was thrown off elsewhere before Crescent Rose came to cut down the other after multiple spins.

She quickly fired her weapon back at one of the Kudabots with a Dust-powered bullet to the chest that blew up in a fiery explosion. The blast was strong enough to throw away the other unfortunate bunch in the group, including Toma Bomba. The Kudabots were knocked out for sure, but Toma Bomba simply rolled away, groaning in shock and pain.

Soon after, there was only one Basher left; the one thrown off by Ruby's advance. It tried to grab a hold of its spear, but Ruby was quick to intercept the minion by letting out one more slash, ending its life and the need for backup for Toma Bomba.

He knew he was now all alone with no one to back him up. It didn't matter. No more of those stupid minions to get in the way this time. They were expandable, so he wouldn't care less about what happened to them. It was his turf all to himself!

Standing alone, Toma Bomba readied himself against the Huntress. He charged up his forearm hooks and aimed them at her. Ruby bent down and prepared to jump into action, grabbing tightly to her scythe. This monster was certainly a tough one to fight, so a different approach was needed. But just how would she come up with a way to gain the upper hand?

The only way she could evidently do damage was to fire her weapon at him where she could easily pin him down with every shot. But right now, there were some complications to that plan. One; she was already down to her last cartridge. The one other full mag was dropped down on the ground after a sudden attack by the Kudabots. She could try and get it back, but that was where another problem presented itself. With Toma Bomba ready to fire his weapons, any attempt on getting the cartridge would end with a burnt body and a one-way trip to who knows where her soul would go.

In the end, she had to make do with what she had. With her Crescent Rose loaded with one mag left, Ruby prepared to fire.

Unfortunately, Toma Bomba was quicker, firing both of his high-powered lasers at Ruby. She prepared to make the jump out of the way.

 **FWOOSH!**

But then, as she was about to make a run for it, the laser blasts from Toma Bomba crashed in a massive explosion.

"Huh?"

Ruby shielded her eyes away from the blinding flash but not before noticing that she was saved from the lasers, by what appeared to be a large white snow flake surrounded by a beautiful coat of light.

When she opened her eyes, she could still see that floating shield and the explosion fading off into smoke. Ruby could finally breathe in ease knowing that this snow flake was a sign that backup was just a stone's throw away.

"Ergh... Who did that?!" Toma Bomba, angered that his attack had been thwarted. He turned around vividly to find out where did that magic shield come from. "Show yourself!"

From out nowhere, there was another blasting surprise for the monster when he felt a powerful blast from behind him, knocking him off his feet and falling to the ground face first.

When the monster fell, Ruby looked behind him to find more excitement in the form of a taller blonde woman with a pair of golden wrist gauntlets.

"Yang!" Ruby cried out to the woman she knew as her older half-sister, Yang Xiao Long. The older girl ran over to her sister, but not before giving Toma Bomba another embarrassing bash by stepping on his back on her way, digging his head deeper into the ground.

"Ruby! Are you okay, sis?" The worried Yang ran for Ruby and embraced her in the tightest hug any sister would give. A little too tight for the little sister…

"Oww... I'm fine... But Yang..." Ruby choked, gasping for her air and space to breathe. " **You're** the one... killing me...!"

Yang ignored her sister's chortled request, almost intendedly. She even chuckled her satisfaction of messing with her sister. Eventually, she released Ruby. The red-haired Huntress held her throat and, almost exaggeratingly, gasped in and out from the deathly grip of Yang's powerful muscled embrace.

Soon, the two were joined in by two more additions to the team. From the trees, a girl dressed with a black bow and a sword with a thick string attached to its grip and a blade flipped back on top of it, along with another cleaver-like weapon to her other hand.

The other one was another girl with beautiful white hair tied to a pony-tail dressed in an icy-white coat over an otherwise cleaner combat dress, armed with a blade with a revolving cylinder inserted in it, as she slid into the fray like an ice-skater charming her audience.

The four girls were now united together. The team of Ruby's friends came to her aid and were now united against the common threat of the unknown monster before them.

Team RWBY looked at their new foe. Apart from Ruby, her teammates all looked in instant horror or disgust, clearly never having seen such a creature of this monstrosity.

"Ugh! What in the cake butler's book of dumped recipes is that thing?!" bellowed Weiss Schnee, utterly repulsed by the monster's gobsmacking image.

"Some kind of… troll?" added Blake Belladona, who was more curious than disgusted.

Toma Bomba managed to get himself from out of the dirt and rose to meet his new enemies. Four girls against a powerful warrior such as himself? This was something of a joke to the warrior because no one, especially women, deserved to take him down. It would be such a disgrace to the Warrior Dome to fall to some young teenagers, unlike the other contestants who have fallen to similar warriors.

"I'm not a troll!" he yelled back. "I'm a Verzerker from the planet Abderon! And I'm here to finish you all!" He stomped his feet to show more of his might to the girls. Though, no one from team RWBY appeared to be the slightest bit scared. Instead, it was a rather awkward introduction from this boasting ball of metal that the girls couldn't help but wonder if they should be scared or amused.

"Uh huh." Yang immediately dismissed the monster's words. "Well, I got news for you, fatso." She came forward and pointed her finger at him, clearly showing that she meant business. "When you mess with my little sister, you get the 'Yangs', real… bad…" She slammed her fists together and the ammo belts wrapped around her gauntlets were slotted into position.

"Yang's poorly thought puns aside, you'll have to get through **all** of us." Blake mused quietly, the blade on top of her gun flipped upwards to be held as a katana like-weapon.

"Ugh! If I have to forget being the gentle woman I am and be rid of this monster, so be it." Weiss shook her head, ridding herself of her unpleasant feelings for the monster in front of her. Her blade, Myrtenaster, clicked with the spinning of the central cylinder with in the frame of the weapon. Weiss prepared herself in a graceful stance of a fencer, pointing her blade towards the creature. "But let's do it properly."

"You kids don't learn, do you?" The alien warrior steamed in fury at the sight of the women primed for battle against him. One of them was bad enough, now he had to face a whole team of them. Who knew how would these three other newcomers fare against him? Being apparently older than the girl who was already all over him like an easy target, could he possibly handle them all together now?

"Nope." Ruby came forward to address her team's stance against Toma Bomba. As leader of her team, she felt it was her duty to make sure she stepped in for her friends, leading the way as they did battle against enemies against them. That, and her body was pumped with adrenaline and overwhelming desire to bring the hurt. She held Crescent Rose with both of her hands and stood with the weapon back behind her body. "We kick butt instead!"

"Bring it on!" Toma Bomba showed no sign of stopping his rampage either; his intent to destroy these pesky teenagers burning brighter than the nearest star. He dragged his feet back and forth again to make another mad dash for the group.

Team RWBY was already armed and waiting, anticipating the abnormal creature's next move, which was not hard to deduce as he appeared to make like a bull and ram them down. Now that they were together, though, their odds could be stacked against him and they could be done before Beacon's curfew was up.

The monster charged, roaring with fuming fury and a charge that would scare the living day lights out of any village within Remnant. But Team RWBY stayed on the defence, depending on their numbers and more importantly, their teamwork and coordination to win the battle.

"Here he comes!" Ruby signalled to her team. "Let's give him everything we got!" The rest of the girls did not need to say anything. They complied by standing with their immature yet somewhat dependable leader. From times before this, even if she was childish at most, Ruby was still someone worth of high regard. A team leader who could actually lead them to victory, as was done several times before. Yang obviously had unending faith in her little sister, Blake carried a great amount of respect for the younger girl, and even the proud Weiss Schnee grew to understand Ruby's conviction to help others, even if she couldn't really tolerate most of her antics. Whatever happened, the team was united behind her back.

The monster was getting closer to the team, ready to batter them down. RWBY's weapons were now pointing right at the incoming beast, poised to move out to carry out their usual strategic moves.

"What the-?!" But then, as the team began to defend themselves, the creature pulled himself, dragged across the ground and barely came to a complete stop. The humans in front of him reeled in surprise by the sudden stop to Toma Bomba's advance.

Toma Bomba himself was quite disgruntled by what had caused his fight to be cut short. Darn! Just when it was about to get good, he was suddenly interrupted by a loud beep coming from his ear.

He tapped the right ear to answer the call he was getting, much to the mixed feelings of ease and confusion of team RWBY.

"What is it?! Can't you see I'm busy?!" The monster spoke up with diminishing temper and evidently vexed at the person who contacted him.

Meanwhile, RWBY just stared on in uncertainty, wondering what the heck was going on with this goon. Ruby, especially, thought this was kind of disappointing. She did have a wild round with the monster and thought he was going to be a real challenge. She let loose almost three magazines worth of high-powered bullets on him and his cronies, and had a blast slicing through Toma Bomba's men before taking on the seemingly durable monster head on.

With her whole team together, she would have thought the fight was going to get a lot more exciting. Unfortunately, it looked like she was going to get a lot more dissatisfaction than all-out fun.

"But-? I've got…" The monster bickered even more to his mysterious caller. He sounded like he was pleading to continue his fight with his enemies, but since he was stuttering in a defeated tone, fat chance that he would get his opportunity.

"Argh… Fine." Forced to concede, Toma Bomba put off his communicator and grunted in rejection. His fight had to end right here, just when the fun was just getting hyped up. Judging by how his caller was insistent with his call, he forced himself to accept the inevitable. Toma Bomba turned to his enemies with a displeased look on his face.

"You fools may have won this one, but I shall be back!" He still snarled to ensure that they will feel his might another time. After scoffing disapprovingly, the menacing alien turned around, leaving behind the otherwise puzzled team of Huntresses.

"Hey!" Ruby jumped in front to call upon her enemy. She really didn't want this fight to end on such anti-climactic terms. She wanted a real fight with an awesome climax and a satisfying ending being the monster being owned by her team's skills and cool moves. They did not have such uncalled for interruptions in most of their previous fights, only during sparring sessions back at school, but their encounters with the beasts of Grimm were always met with total annihilation and death, on the Grimm's part, that is. "Come on! Our fight's just getting started!"

Toma Bomba ignored the girl, choosing instead to venture out on his own. Then, to everyone's surprise, he was then covered in an instant flash of light and electricity before suddenly disappearing altogether.

No one knew how to react to this situation. From out of nowhere, this large mysterious abomination showed up with no explanation of its intentions, and now he was gone in the blink of an eye.

"Darn." Ruby just moaned in disappointment. She admitted that she felt for that monster's own frustration of how their battle finished. Only she believed she had the better reason to win against such a strong enemy.

Nevertheless, it was done. No more fighting and the team could finally relax after their brief tension against such a beast.

"That was…" Blake struggled to find a word to describe the situation. "Weird."

"Well. At least it's over." Weiss shrugged her shoulders, choosing not to care since she didn't have to fight so much and holding her head up high proudly to show it. Everyone, even Ruby, soon agreed that it was time to move on and call it a day. They regrouped to gather up what they found so far from their usual hunting periods before they ended up meeting this creature from wherever it came from.

"Still, what was that thing anyway?" Blake, as usual, was the first to question.

The mystery surrounding this encounter was just too bizarre to just simply ignore. They had never seen such a creature before in their entire lives. Not a single recollection of weird monsters from any of Professor Port's classes. Nothing from the books read in the library. Not even in Yang's bedtime stories which Ruby so attentively enjoyed. There was just something extremely odd and extraordinary about this particular monster.

"It's… not like any of the Grimm we've faced before." wondered Yang.

"Whatever it was, it's gone now, so let's just… head home." Weiss rubbed her head trying to forget what she saw today. The creature was just too wretched to be questioned.

"I dunno, Weiss." reminded Yang. "I don't think we should be forgetting that thing. It can't just simply appear around here for no reason." Her instincts told her that the monster would return, given that he was still holding onto his word. "I say we just watch our backs in case something like this happens again."

The three girls had to go with Yang's suggestion.

"What do you think, Ruby?"

Ruby jumped at the sound of Blake's voice; the Faunus girl asking for her opinion on the strange event. It became clear that she was in deep thought about what happened to her today.

What was even offbeat about all of this was the rest of the other humanoid creatures, and since Ruby was the only one who fought them and beat them all, the whole ordeal was getting quite troublesome for her.

Worse still, whoever was contacting him was something to note. Who was it that was talking to him? Where did he or she come from? Was there something going on that would probably pose some serious trouble for the team or anyone else in Remnant?

One thing was for certain though. The fight was over, but even Ruby knew that after all of this, it was only the beginning.

"I'm… Hmmmm…" She wanted to say something to them. However, it was all so puzzling, she wasn't sure if she could be able to put it all together. But maybe one person could. At least, she hoped he would. "We should ask Professor Ozpin. Maybe he knows something about all of this."

"Good idea." agreed Yang, followed by the other two girls as they nodded. No doubt this was going to take some higher power to help them understand the circumstances of the events. If the great Ozpin himself would not be able to give them any details, then he would at least have some form of action to get things straight.

For Ruby, however, she couldn't help but wonder. If this monster had backup, then more would be coming, right? She prayed on, hoping that such a conclusion could never be met. Otherwise, she would have to find a way to settle it once and for all.

* * *

Elsewhere in the forest, not far from the battle, a lone creature was spectating the scene from another grove of trees, where light could not reach other than the small openings between leaves.

Madame Odius was studying the confrontation between Ruby and Toma Bomba to see for herself if these Huntresses were as formidable as her unexpected allies had told her. So far, she was duly impressed.

Certainly, these warriors were quite powerful enough to take on a troop of Kudabots and a lone contender on their own. Together, though, would be the one thing that she would have to watch out for.

"Interesting…" She stroked her chin, fascinated yet curious as to how she was going to deal with such powerful warriors. Perhaps even the Power Rangers would have trouble catching up with their speed and weaponry. These weapons, large and surprising, would make them all powerless to stand a chance against the Huntresses.

 _Wait a minute… Could that be true?_

"Odius!" Her observation was interrupted when a strict yell roared from behind her. It wasn't loud enough for the four humans further away to catch on, but Odius was surely annoyed. The cry was all too familiar to her.

Looking behind, she found that the one and only Ripcon was right behind her. The one person she did not need to see right now. The bad-tempered General marched his way towards the otherwise scheming and quiet soothsayer, eager to yell at her ear for her disobedience.

"Galvanax is currently waiting for your news!" he blabbered. "Why have you not reported to him yet?"

Odius cursed within herself. She had forgotten about Galvanax. What was the champion going to do with her if she was going to leave him in the dark too long? He would have gone down there to pulverize her for being uninformative of her whereabouts.

Of course, he had to send the bigmouth to find her. It was not as gruelling as what would come if Galvanax himself was to show, but Ripcon was no pleasing matter.

"You darn fool, Ripcon!" She hushed him as quietly as she could. "You will give away my location!"

"Like I care." Ripcon crossed his arms, staring at Odius with a look of dissent. "You've been taking too long. Galvanax is still waiting to hear how your alliance is going so far."

"It has only been a day!" complained Odius. "How could he-?" She was going to rant against Galvanax for his impatience, but knowing Ripcon was such a tattletale, she would be wise not to complete that sentence. "Never mind."

The moment she got cut off by her own realization, Ripcon chuckled slightly. How he enjoyed watching someone as mischievous as Madame Odius to stumble in humiliation.

"So, what are you going to say now?" Ripcon asked arrogantly.

"I have a reason to delay my meeting with our brave warrior." explained Madam Odius. "I am to meet with our new allies right now."

"Well, where are they?" Ripcon bellowed, seeing no one anywhere near him other than the witch in front of him.

"Oh. I see you've brought some company, Madame Odius." Then, the two aliens heard a devilishly quiet female voice. As they turned around, Odius relief had finally arrived. The posse of human collaborators had arrived to meet their new company.

Ripcon stared unbelievingly at the three humans, a woman backed by two more younger ones. Three kids. That's all there was. Just three young teenagers. Though, it could have been worse than six of these tough children. Still, if Madame Odius truly thought the group was worth working with, he might had been going nuts.

"Aahh. There you are, my new allies." Madame Odius welcomed the trio of shadowy teens. Cinder, however, refused to return the gesture with a warm heart.

"Cut to the chase, Madame Odius." Cinder spoke. "Why have you brought us here?"

"Gather around, children." The alien brought the humans together with her and the newcomer with the group. Mercury and Emerald took one good look at the strange ancient-looking warrior they had first met. All they got in return was a startling snarl from the General, spooking them up.

"So, what took you lot so long?" asked Madame Odius, though Cinder could sense a taste of impatience from the creature's voice.

"Yeah. We kinda have some plans of our own right now." answered Mercury with a sheepish grin.

"What? And lose the opportunity to get our mutual plans in order?" Madame Odius came over, creeping towards Mercury and gently stroking his chin. The touch made the boy's skin shiver to the core after the feeling of the cold and shaky hand uncomfortably tickled him. Emerald couldn't help but grin evilly at her partner's suffering. Once Odius let go, he let out a nervous exhale before the soothsayer met up with their leader. Odius shifted her body back, allowing the presence of her reluctant ally to be welcomed.

"This is my associate, Ripcon." She introduced the General to them. Ripcon walked to look at Cinder in the eye regardless of what she was capable of.

"So, this is the filth that we are forced to rely on?" He approached the humans trying to promote superiority with his larger figure and demonic voice, taking on Cinder like she was nothing but a defenceless little girl. "What are you supposed to be? Some sort of witch? Like someone we know?"

But when Ripcon was about to continue, he was suddenly cut off by a single spark from the snap of Cinder's finger, igniting a fire that nearly burned his face. The alien General stepped back from the warning, earning a evil snicker from Odius.

"Take a guess." Cinder taunted back before snuffing the flame out by loosening the power to her hand.

"I warned you, Ripcon. Do not underestimate these humans." reminded Madame Odius. "They're certainly not like the ones we're so used to."

"Yeah, I prefer them scrambled and running for their lives…" agreed Ripcon begrudged and humiliated.

"Why are we not getting the chance to meet your master?" Cinder took her turn to ask a question. It was strange for Madame Odius having another meeting like this, when the alien herself promised one between her and Galvanax. "I'm sure we could have arranged our meeting with him instead of his underlings."

"Galvanax does not have the time to be dealing with humans like you, but he will be watching our partnership as it develops." said Ripcon.

"But only if you decide to keep your word on giving us this 'Aura' in which you possess." added Madame Odius.

"Ahhh. A trust exercise, I see." Cinder touched her chin in anticipation. This could be quite the partnership and a challenge to prove her cooperation to her allies. She would need to exercise caution if she was to ensure that nothing went wrong with this mutual agreement. "Very well. We shall not disappoint him."

"Your revolution is in good hands, my dear Cinder." assured Madame Odius, but the last words sort of ticked Cinder off, causing her to glare at the monster with her glaring fiery eyes. The chilling fear from the human's gaze was just as powerful as Galvanax's own furious rage, instantly reminding Odius to not mess with her.

"You call me that again, and I will be forced to repeat the same punishment I gave you earlier." Cinder reminded her that rude comments would end with agony on her part. Odius stood back, managing to maintain a calm posture to her apology by raising her hand out.

"In order to carry out our plan to hunt down your enemies, Ripcon will provide the champions we need to help incite chaos to this world. They are all combat-ready and will be prepared to wreak havoc." explained Madame Odius.

"You mean, like that ugly troll you sent to fight that Huntress?" Emerald called with a sly grin. "Doesn't seem like a champion to me."

"We did not anticipate that your enemies would be **that** powerful." countered Odius. "But fear not. This can only mean that our warriors will have to give it their all."

"What? Did he like go easy on her or something?" added Mercury. "That brat was clearly all over his toes the whole fight. He was only lucky to have survived a whole team of those Huntresses."

Suddenly, Ripcon pulled out his swords and pointed them both at the two smack talkers, instantly shutting them up in panic.

"We'll see who's lucky when we show you the rest of our glorious combatants." After being satisfied of them knowing their place, he sheathed his blades back in his holsters, leaving the two to breathe out from their dread from those shining and sharp silver blades. Now, they should really not mess with a tough guy like him.

"Very well. Then I shall prepare to assist your warriors anyway we can." acknowledged Cinder, willing to allow the inclusion of several monstrous creatures into her plans. "I have many contacts across the city of Vale. They will be… cooperative in your assaults. One way or another…" She then put in mind her own cohorts throughout the city. They may had been weakened by the resolve of the Huntsmen and Huntresses of Beacon, but Cinder was willing to move on with her schemes.

"Then I will inform Galvanax of the next move. Just in case of any possible friendly fire…" Ripcon informed Cinder of his own next move. He was just willing to see what Galvanax would do with Odius after her month-long absence. "We wouldn't want our alliance to be shattered because of a few misunderstandings, would we?"

"I like this guy." Even after nearly feeling the cutting power of Ripcon's blades, Mercury and Emerald could learn to like someone of power over the one being who defeated them in battle the day before.

"Yeah. He's got the spunk." Emerald followed up with her partner's praise.

"Finally, I get to have some respect around here." Ripcon placed his hands on his hips with pride building up.

"Ah ah ah. You're losing that respect, pal." Mercury spat back, naughtily twiddling his finger in a as-a-matter-of-factly manner. "Don't push it."

"Grrgh…" Ripcon snarled. This was going to be one heck of a partnership.

"Very soon. We shall get what we need, and you will have this world under your control." Odius extended her hand out to shake Cinder's, assuring the woman of the fruit they would bear from their combined efforts.

"Good." Cinder agreed, accepting the exchange.

With things done, the two sides were ready to part, prepared to make their next move against their enemies. Both of the parties left each other to their own devices, ensured that their alliance would be able to fulfil the conditions they needed.

Unfortunately, that left one side oblivious to the other's intentions.

"Last chance, Cinder. You sure we have to work with these clowns?" Mercury whispered, looking back at the departing aliens making sure that they were out of earshot. "The more they come, the creepier it gets. And I'm really not liking the looks of it."

"Don't be alarmed, my comrades." Cinder calmly convinced her partner. "I'm sure that their presence here will cause enough trouble to Ozpin and his worthless students. Perhaps even the army won't be able to find it so easy to get rid of them. Such huge creatures would indeed become powerful obstacles against the whole student body for that matter."

Mercury looked to Emerald, who gave him a shrug of her shoulders. She too could not figure what could happen with this alliance with monsters of a game show.

"Besides, even if they fail to impress us, we will make sure to use whatever we can to reach our goals. They shall become expendable when we see fit…"

Meanwhile, Ripcon and Odius were prepared to return to the Warrior Dome to report to Galvanax. However, Ripcon was still uncertain about the arrangement between Galaxy Warriors and this human menagerie of dark figures.

"Are you sure this is a good idea?" he asked Odius. "Galvanax is still not very enthusiastic about this arrangement with some humans. Even if they could cast some magic spells, do acrobatics or change weapons from blades to guns, I still don't like this either. Thought the last part sounded impressive."

"Why worry so much, Ripcon?" asked Madame Odius.

"You know why!" Ripcon answered exasperatedly. "Our champion failed to defeat a little girl! And not a team of them. Just one! And now we have to deal with a whole army of them. It's like dealing with the Power Rangers times ten!"

"And we will side with the people who shall assist us in our mission." reminded Odius. It did not make Ripcon feel any easier, but she probably wouldn't care any less. "Don't worry about them, Ripcon. I promise that when this is all over, we shall allow our glorious champion to seize the power for himself and perhaps, with some opportunities… rule this world."

"Yes…" Ripcon agreed. "For once, Odius. You actually managed to impress me."

"Haven't I always?" A quirky remark put the General back in his usual end of her taunts.

"Speaking of the Power Rangers, I'm just glad they aren't here to spoil our fun. They won't be able to find us even if they have to travel all the way to the planet Onyx to do it."

* * *

As Ripcon and Odius disappeared from the forest, at the battleground from which Team RWBY had finally left from, something else was watching from the top of a tree.

Standing on the branch with great balance, another lone figure just sat there, probably watching the whole battle earlier. After a while, it finally decided to jump down on the grassy ground, still eyeing the remains of the last battle; fallen Kudabots and craters formed from the explosions.

Then, he was joined by another figure coming out from the trunk of the same tree the former was at. The two figures came together to discuss what had transpired over the past few minutes.

"Gee, Brody." spoke the latter being. "Why did we not help that girl?" It then came over to the light, revealing itself to be a human-sized robot built with red and white armour, walking over like any robot would.

The other being was then revealed to be a young human, almost the same age as the Huntresses, dressed in a red shirt with white undergarments coming out from the sleeves.

"What? You saw it for yourself. She totally aced it against that monster. Plus, she had backup." The boy named Brody Romero spoke to his robotic partner, Redbot.

"But shouldn't we at least try to help?" Redbot told him again "It would seem like the logical way to…" Suddenly, the robot was interrupted by a finger from Brody to his thin mouth slot.

"We can't, Redbot." From his previous humorous tone, the boy changed to become more serious, emphasizing his own logic on the robot. "At least, maybe not yet." The two then walked over to the battered patch of land.

For the whole time, Brody watched the whole fight take place and the mysterious little girl with her… Giant scythe-blaster hybrid? He couldn't find the perfect way to describe the huge weapon she was carrying. He saw as she, with great effort and precision, was able to single-handedly took on one of Galvanax's warriors and his backup before the intervention of her friends.

"The way I see it; we probably shouldn't reveal ourselves to this world until we know if we can trust these girls." He knew they had to conceal themselves from any local from these parts, no matter if they could become potential allies or not. At least, until the moment was right.

"They sure look formidable and friendly to me." remarked Redbot.

"Yeah, but still. we'll just have to wait a little more, Redbot. I'm sure we can be friends sooner or later." Brody came over to pick up one of the Kudabot's fallen spears, twirling it around in his casual mood. "Besides, we have to keep looking for Galvanax, or any of his cronies before anything terrible happens to this world."

"I guess that's the decision you want to follow. I would be frying my own circuits if I don't have your back." Redbot saw no reason to argue with the human he had befriended all this time.

"Dad always used to say, _'A ninja must be patient, no matter what the situation.'_. So we'll wait until we can get to know these fighters better and see if they would like to help us in our fight." Brody then threw the staff down; the blade piercing down on the ground and the hilt sticking upwards. "I just hope Galvanax doesn't send another monster to cause more trouble."

"You know what else I hope for?" said Redbot, placing his fists at his hips. "That the rest of the team can find their way around this place."

"Hey, we're ninjas!" Brody tapped his friend's shoulder, assuring him that more of his friends who were also in this world with him were in good hands. "There's nothing we can't do. We'll always find our way around new places. Fear no danger, Redbot. Fear. No. Danger."

Then, Brody noticed something wrong with his robot friend. He stared at him, noticing sudden frantic movement in the form of his shivering hull. Redbot couldn't say anything to him for what he saw behind Brody scared the operating circuits out of him.

"Except… for that giant scorpion coming our way!"

Brody's eyes widened, curious at first, but Redbot's description made him turn around quickly to find that he wasn't kidding around.

"Whoa!" There, he saw a massive white scorpion-like creature with bloody red eyes and a golden stinger at its tail, glowing brightly and pointing dangerously at the duo.

Then, when the scorpion set its sights at them, it shook its stinger before it lunged it forward at the robot.

"Look out!" Brody yelled as he leapt into action, grabbing Redbot and throwing himself away with him before the stinger could harm them. It stabbed on the ground, barely missing its targets.

Brody and Redbot landed roughly away from the creature. After stopping, they then slowly rose from their fall, turning to face their attacker. Fear began to envelop them with the hairs on Brody's skin jolting up from the sudden terror.

"Are you OK, Redbot?" He called for Redbot. The robot dusted himself up before hiding behind his human companion.

"A-affirmative. My circuits are still functioning!" Redbot reported before he trembled at the sight of the monster they were now facing. "What is that thing?! My scanners cannot identify this creature!"

"Maybe it's one of the local wildlife. And if you ask me, it wants a good bite out of us!"

With great bravery, Brody defiantly stepped out at front to defend his friend from the giant arachnoid creature. The scorpion clamped its large pincers at the human, showing its staggering might and deadly arsenal. Its stinger, freed from the ground, began to wriggle more from the lustful desire to kill.

"D-does it f-f-find robots tasty?" Redbot stuttered. Brody just stared at the scorpion, displaying no fear on his part, as it was now full-on courage that took over.

With one push of his body strength, the human boy moved his hands for his belt buckle. Then, from out of it, he two items from it. The first thing he pulled out was what looked like a metallic red star twice the size of his hand. It had a yellow centre with a hole inside that seemed to be an insertion point for something. The other hand held a smaller star, half his hand's size, which was also red all over. At its surface, it had something of a red helmeted warrior with a blazing four-bladed star plastered on its face.

He pointed the smaller star at the monster while the larger one was moved to his back.

"Who knows and who cares? Whatever this thing is, it's not going to stop us!" Brody then swung his arm with the small star and inserted it into the middle hole of the other star, locking it in place with a twist.

He then thrust the device forward and raised his free hand upwards. Finally, he then gave that hand one mighty lunge and it grazed through the small shuriken star to spin into a blazing fire.

" **NINJA SPIN!** "

* * *

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED…**_

 **So at the end, I decided to use a monster not from Power Rangers, but rather from the show's source material, Super Sentai. I use this technique in my other Power Rangers story,** _ **Power Rangers Hexagon**_ **, where I would look through the list of Japanese monsters from Super Sentai and find out which ones were not used for Power Rangers when it was adapted. And since ToQger was never adapted into Power Rangers at all, it's safe to say that its monsters are safe for me to adapt without clashing with other potential appearances. Also, it so happens that one of the Ninja Steel villains, Cosmo Royale, was actually also from ToQger instead of Ninninger (Ninja Steel's Japanese source), so what a coincidence it was for me to choose other villains from ToQger to be used in this story XD**

 **R98** **: Your prayers have been answered! And soon, we shall see how in the next chapter.**


	4. Through the Dimensions

**CHAPTER 3: Through the Dimensions**

 **A/N~ This next chapter shall be a filler, just to explain how the Rangers came to Remnant in the first place.**

* * *

 **Warrior Dome**

 _ **~THIRD PERSON POV~**_

A loud echoing chorus of cheer rocked the game show stage in the Warrior Dome. The mixture of excited and impatient roars of the spectators fuelled another episode of 'Galaxy Warriors' to extreme enjoyment status.

Taking the stage once more was Cosmo Royale, grabbing his microphone while prancing around entertaining the crowd with his hosting skills, though most of the crowd was more focused on the battles instead of Cosmo's big mouth.

"Once again, folks! A contestant is being pulled out of battle!" At least he was able to bring the crowd together, even if it wasn't enough. "Oohh. He ain't going to like that."

At the look at his wrist watch, he caught on that it was time to call it a day and settled off. At least today did not end in a total failure. He only hoped it would have been better though.

"Stay tuned as we find out what shall be next in our **Extra Special Edition of Galaxy Warriors! Interdimensional Battle Extravaganza!** "

And just like that, the curtains were closed, leaving behind the crowd to roar even more.

Behind the curtains, Cosmo Royale picked up his cane and walked funnily towards backstage, passing through some of the lesser Kudabots who were assigned to do more harmless, but completely unsatisfying jobs as clean-up duty, sweeping up any confetti left behind by the show of the day.

As he made his way into the corridor, he hoped to meet Galvanax, discussing with him on what was the next course of action. What kind of new misadventures would the contestants go through next? And more importantly, at least for Cosmo, would the ratings go up?

The sight of a lone human girl fighting Toma Bomba earlier could actually help. The way she fought was probably unlike anything the spectators have ever seen before; their cheers louder than ever. Also, it would have been no surprise that she was doing all of this unmorphed that helped boost the ratings up. Not even the Rangers could provide such a stunt-filled show like this. This had to go on!

Alas, Cosmo walked to the end of the room and into another; into Galvanax's throne room.

There he found the proud and powerful gladiator supreme, sitting atop his throne. Galvanax sat silently, watching the previous battle with both interest and disgust. He always loathed a human gaining ground against one of his contestants, and if this kept up, it could spell disaster to his own show, despite the massive excitement this lone human incited to the crowd.

Even if the show was about to get the views it would need, Galvanax had to face the facts. He had to do something about this recent development if he was going to obtain the power that laid within.

"Sir!" He was suddenly interrupted by the uncalled for call of his show's host, who came waddling over with a completely literally new face of worry after he spun his head from his trademark happy face. "Why did we decide to withdraw Toma Bomba away from the battle? The crowd was getting so pumped up!"

All Galvanax could give the babbling goblin was a growl of discontent, shutting Cosmo up.

"If you must know, Cosmo, that witch Madame Odius decided to hold some secret meeting with our 'new allies'. Some rambunctious group of human children who claim to have goals that align with ours. Therefore, I had to cut the battle short." Disgruntled by the forced cancellation of the action, the champion moved on, heading for the very witch who promised a probable outcome to this alliance. "She better have great news, for her sake."

Right on time, the soothsayer had arrived with Ripcon at her side, coming to report on her mission to Galvanax.

The boss was as cross as ever, having fed up of the lack of information Odius was keeping from him. He stomped towards Odius, staring at her with his beaming red eyes. The witch could not do anything to stand strong against such a gaze of violent power. Just bow down and address the master. That was all she could do.

"Ah… Great Galvanax!" she greeted. "It is certainly great to see you again!"

"You better have a good excuse for leaving me in the dark, Odius." The giant was not amused by her welcoming approach, still impatient to the core.

"And I do, sir." Madame Odius was about to explain herself to Galvanax, but as it happened, she saw the monitor far behind Galvanax, telling her that her boss was watching the whole spectacle from the ship. "But I believe that you're already seeing it yourself, Master."

Everyone turned their attention back to the screen, just at that moment when the human girl in a dress was able to pin down the contestant with her sniper rifle.

"Hmmmm…" Galvanax watched on, studying the battle and thought of what was to come next in his plans to get what he wanted.

"I cannot believe what I'm seeing." Ripcon was beyond baffled by spectating the abilities this one human could do against a whole troop of Kudabots and one lean mean fighting machine. No wonder Odius found an interest in working with the locals he had met earlier.

Having had enough, Galvanax switched off the screen and faced the soothsayer. "Odius. You have my attention." admitted the champion, all of his temper cooled and interests garnered for Odius. "We need this power. It could be our opportunity to destroy those nosy Rangers once and for all!"

"And we shall have it, my liege… We shall have it…"

* * *

 _ **~BRODY'S POV~**_

 **Forever Fall**

"Ergh…" I don't know what came over me. I mean, choosing to fight a large scorpion with a glowing stinger on its tail. I always thought, how hard could it be? I've been raised in a tough environment trying to at least avoid getting kicked out by nearly everyone at a very hostile environment for ten years. Then, the next thing I knew it, I'm leading a team of good pals to fight the forces of evil.

Fighting a giant scorpion shouldn't be that big of a deal, right?

But right now, I had to rethink my options. This was a lifeform I've never seen before, and it was far bigger than any of the monsters I've fought back at home. I mean, huge as in, normal size without the _Gigantifier_. I did not know what to expect.

Seeing that a girl could maybe almost my age taking on a pack of those wolf-like monsters and handling another one of Galvanax's minions on her own, you would think that the creatures here could be a breeze.

I was so wrong…

There I was, coming face-to-face with a scorpion almost twice the size of Galvanax with a stinger that could probably vaporize me in one stab. Those glowing red eyes constantly staring me down like all of my previous monsters.

I was fully morphed, equipped with my one-of-a-kind Star Blade with the many powers and ninja steel at my whim, and I was still struggling to one-up this giant insect.

Or was it… an arachnid? I don't know; I had a hard time catching up on my Earth studies. Hey, it's hard speed-running through your homework after being imprisoned in Galvanax's Warrior Dome for ten years.

But through that decade of hard labour, I was always taught to expect the unexpected. Who knows what kind of dangers would come at you?

Well, the unexpected has its way of bringing enough danger to keep your blood pumping 'till next Earth month.

" **HSST!** " The giant scorpion attacked, launching its fiery stinger at me. I jumped out of the way, letting the sharp point pierce the ground instead. I rolled to safety, accompanying my good friend, Redbot.

Redbot's not really much of a fighter, but at least I could always depend on him for moral support. Still, his presence as a vulnerable target did kind of get in the way. I had to put my focus on fighting this thing and the last thing I needed was to have Redbot become a metallic shish kebab.

"Are you okay, Redbot?" I asked, keeping one hand in front of him to keep him back from danger.

"Still intact, Brody." Redbot's voice sounded very shaken. The poor bot must had been really scared out of his motherboard after the scorpion decided to jump in. Now, I had to make sure he was out of reach.

"Get to cover. I'll hold him off a little longer." I heled my sword forward, defiantly facing the creature while covering for Redbot as he ran for the trees.

"Y-You don't have to tell me twice!" My good pal took it to the woods while I let the creature come at me.

I pointed my Star Blade towards it, showing it that I meant business when it comes to protecting my friends. The scorpion reacted; this time with its pincers instead of the stinger.

It snapped one at me, but I jumped up before I could get crushed. I aimed for the monster's back, hoping to get a good slice at it.

That's when that blasted stinger came in again. I had to flip away to gain enough momentum to avoid it. It just barely scratched my suit on my way down to the ground.

Once I rolled away, I swung my sabre in front of me in case the creature made another run for me. It turned around towards me and stared, snapping its giant pincers at me.

I knew I couldn't go on any longer. It was time to end this fight once and for all.

I pulled out another Ninja Power Star from my belt, letting the power in my body swim through and into the star. I then locked it in place before bringing the sword to my chest and positioning my thumb to give the star's blades a rough spin.

" **NINJA SPIN!** " Then, one flick of my thumb and the star rapidly spun, channelling all the power from the star into the blade of my weapon in a coat of red blazing energy.

I felt the rush of power coming back to me as I made ready to make the ultimate final attack.

With one quick dash, I charged for the scorpion, blade dragging through the dirt along the way. As I closed in, the scorpion lunged its right pincer at me. I saw the attack coming and jumped over the strike and landed right in front of its mouth. Before I could land a blow on it, I caught sight of its stinger darting for me.

Quickly, I blocked the stinger with my sabre. The moment it hit my blade, I was taken aback by how powerful the thrust against me was. I was on my knees trying to support myself as the stinger inched closer to my neck.

I had to push in more power to my blade and be free of the pressure this thing was giving me. Charging my blade up again, I let one mighty push of my body upwards and let the stinger fly right above me.

Within that instant, I made footwork and leapt in the air before the monster would react. Below me, the scorpion was well within my sights before I lifted my sword upwards and dived down to make the finishing blow.

" **Final Attack!** " After yelling out my battle cry, I slashed the sabre at its head, scoring that final blow and ending the scorpion's life for good…

Just another day of busting evil monsters, like the days before…

* * *

 _One Week Before,_

 **Summer Cove,**

 **Earth,**

The days before.

Just another day before I got myself into some unknown world. The days when I was happily attending school at Summer Cove High.

That day, it was like any other. Going through classes and usual hangouts with my friends all over the city were the fun bits of the day. Well, I'd rather forget the everyday antics of Victor and Monty right about now. Other than that, we were just minding our own business, just the six of us having some fun and helping me learn more about Earth life.

However, even on these normal days, we all felt something was off.

During these times, we would get an alert or something; usually one of Galvanax's minions wreaking havoc in the city. It was every once a week that big bully would send in a monster to terrorize the public and we would jump right in at the very moment.

However, one month had gone by and strangely enough, there was no sign of Galvanax or his cohorts. Not even a single Kudabot showed up to mess with us.

We would wait for a little while more before anything could happen. And yet, there was no trouble going on.

This was totally suspicious, we thought. Just how would Galvanax be so absent if he was so into defeating us and getting our ninja powers at the same time?

The others saw this as a chance to have some peace and quiet and worry about their grades instead of monsters. But as for me, I didn't like it.

I've spent ten whole years in Galvanax's Warrior Dome, and when something doesn't happen within an Earth month or so, the show would host some 'brilliant' special which involved more violence and more entertainment.

And that was when I knew. Something told me that Galvanax was hiding something and I guessed it was about to get to us when we least expected it.

For now, I was in the cafeteria, having the ever-so typical serving of meat loaf before I would end my day at school to join the others. I loved that meat loaf, but having it every day can really spoil your appetite after a while.

Speaking of my friends, one of them saw me eating at the table and decided to come join me.

"Hey, Brody!" I lifted my head to see the energetic genius that was Sarah. She sat down opposite me, expecting some news from me like 'how my class went' or 'did I learn something new'? Same old questions, but talking with Sarah, these questions were really fun to answer.

"Hey, Sarah." I put down my spoon of loaf to say hello. And so, we began the talk. However, that same suspicion I had all day was still messing with my mind. I had to bring this up to the team, so Sarah was a good start.

"The others are planning to head over to the lake later today. We were hoping you would like to join us." I had to fathom this. Hanging out with the other Rangers was the light of my life after being free from Galvanax and all. I wouldn't trade it for the galaxy.

But when it came to Galvanax, I had to press matters and, as the leader of the team, make sure that everyone was on board with what I had to say.

So, for the first time in a while, I voiced my rejection to Sarah's request. Worse still, I had to make them cancel out the meeting, at least for now.

"Sorry, Sarah." I sighed. "I'm… not feeling alright right now." Sarah lifted her eyebrow, slightly taken aback at my refusal.

"Why not? It's a nice day today. Don't you want to have some relaxation while there are no monster attacks?"

There. That was the thing. She had to say it, and now I really had to voice out my concerns.

"That's the thing." Sarah wasn't so sure on what I was getting at, so I had to go on. "I can't shake the feeling that Galvanax hasn't been around lately."

"What's so troubling about that?" Sarah asked again.

"Well, when Galvanax isn't doing anything like sending his contestants to die out there, it must mean something." Now, Sarah was drawing curious. At least it looked like she was about to pay attention seriously this time. When Galvanax is plotting something, it would be very bad if we were to ignore it.

"What do you think?" Sarah, always so curious… "You've been up there in the big house before. What do you think he's up to?"

"Well…" I was about to suggest something, but suddenly, another set of good chums decided to come join us.

"Hey, guys!" We looked to our side to find the rest of the team coming to sit down with us. The couple, Haley and Calvin, sat next to each other besides Sarah while the magician-in-training Preston and superstar Levi Weston sat on both sides of myself.

Good. Now that the team was altogether, it would be easier for me to tell everyone what I feared the most.

"What's up with you two?" Levi spoke up. He must had seen Sarah and I being all troubled about something. I know I was…

"Yeah, you look like you've been kicked out of the class or something." joked Calvin as he slumped an arm around Haley's back. She noticed our expressions and had to ask herself, knowing that I was coming down with something.

"Does this have to do with Galvanax again?" Her question kept the gang all quiet. When they saw Sarah looking at me, they knew that it was me who had to do the talking.

"Alright, guys." I breathed out. "I don't know about you, but Galvanax is up to something." Everyone's eyes were on me with worried and questioning gazes.

"What is it, Brody?" asked Preston.

"I'm not sure, but this lack of activity is creeping me out." I picked up my fork and stuck it down my mushy food, poking it over and over to calm my nerves. "If he's been leaving us alone for this long, then I'm sure he's coming up with some diabolical special episode of Galaxy Warriors to even things up against us."

Now that got everyone spooked. The situation was getting more serious as they continued to look at me inquisitively.

"What kind of special are we talking about?" Levi asked again.

"Usually, it would involve more explosions and a whole lot more fighting and bashing." That wasn't much to describe Galvanax's specials, but it was still enough to make sense. The others were sure worried enough.

"Wait. So you're saying that Galvanax's coming up with an even more destructive episode? What are our odds of going through with this?" Calvin wondered.

"Trust me, guys. If we don't do something about this, then prepared to be splattered, bashed, crisped, vaporized… You know the drill."

Our worries mounted to an all-time high. We **really** had to deal with Galvanax and all before the next school day. Otherwise, we're going to have a lot more to lose than a good grade. I got up and put away my meat loaf, too sick to even continue eating at this point while the others followed me to the trash bin.

"So, what do we do now?" Preston asked me as I dumped my food into the bin.

"What else?" I shrugged my shoulders. "We go get Mick. We have to let him know what's up."

The others nodded. And so, leaving the cafeteria and a wasted batch of meat loaf down the trash bin, we made our way to the school's auto-repair garage which doubled as our secret base. I hoped that Mick wasn't doing anything with other students, because I was sure that this whole matter was about to get a whole lot worse if we didn't get to business fast.

* * *

Off we were to the garage to find Mick and Redbot could be. Maybe Haley's dog, Cody too, but we had bigger problems to worry about. No offense to Haley.

As we got there, we were in luck. No one was home and better yet, the garage was now in the form of our base with our gadgets and computers all logged in, as well as the all-powerful Ninja Nexus Prism placed in its shelf at the right side of the room.

And who did we find tending to the base? Yep, there was Mick, tuning into his computer and just typing in some buttons.

Without time to lose, we ran up to him; our arrival catching his attention.

"Whoa! Rangers!" Mick called. "You guys seem to be in a rush! What's going on? Another food fight at the cafeteria? I'll get the tomatoes!"

"That's not it!" I stopped Mick before he had any more ideas. "It's a real emergency."

"Brody!" Then, we were joined by Redbot, who happened to be taking care of Cody while we were in the middle of our classes. He was holding with him a chew bone toy that Cody must had been playing with him with. "What's the matter?!"

Cody came running to his owner's feet as Haley bent down to pet her dog, ruffling up his neck fur and snuggled with him.

"We think that Galvanax is about to unleash a massive attack on us." I declared. "We need to find out where he could be and when he'll strike before it's too late."

To my surprise, though, Mick fiddled with his finger and headed towards the computer. I knew what that meant and no doubt about it.

Mick already knew and he was already planning to do what was needed.

"As a matter of fact, I'm working on that." Bingo. Good ol' Mick. He's always a step ahead of us when it came to figuring out Galvanax's next plan of action.

He led us to his computer and made us all gather around in a circle to look at the monitor. The screen showed the map of the known galaxy; a spiral entity in the middle of infinite space.

I could tell Mick was planning some sort of galactic search for Galvanax. He did mention that he had picked up some useful junk from the Warrior Dome when we free fell from the ship.

When we watched what Mick had been doing for the time being, we looked closely as he zoomed into some part of the galaxy.

"What's up with the tech work, Mick?" asked Haley.

"Actually, I'm just trying to look for a lead. The Ninja Nexus Prism should be able to tell you guys what's really up."

The Prism! Of course. It would be able to tell us anything happening out there, so it could have told Mick something about Galvanax.

We decided to try it out and watched the giant glassy star at its centre. When we arrived, its blades began to spin rapidly and projected a vision in the centre.

There, we saw the Warrior Dome ship in the stars. It was just drifting along, cruising on with almost no schemes at work. The ship was on its own, with only a few civilian transports getting into the ship as if another show was about to happen.

Then, all of a sudden, we saw it. The ship moved to some huge portal from out of nowhere and just warped itself into it.

No one knew what to expect. The ship just vanished from this galaxy and to some random location only the Morphing Grid knows where.

For awhile, we all thought this could be the day that Galvanax had finally decided to end his little game against us. But this was Galvanax we were talking about. He would not pass the opportunity to defeat us if he had to go somewhere important; meaning he must had found a way he could finally gain an advantage over us.

Wherever Galvanax was heading off to next, there was no doubt that we were in for an even nastier fight in our hands. Something had to be done.

"I got it!" Suddenly, Mick shouted from the other end of the room. The team and I ran to his side to find out what he had cracked.

"What is it?" I asked. Mick moved over to let us see what was going on. After seeing what was going on, we finally found an answer to what Galvanax was up to. In the screen, there was Cosmo Royale on stage as usual, entertaining the crowd of the show's live broadcast.

" _Hello! Wicked ghouls and gentle giants! We are here in anticipation for our newest episode!_

 _Prepare to be enthralled as in two days' time, we shall launch our grand special episode!"_

The crowd cheered for Cosmo's speech, but as for us, we weren't liking it one bit.

" _This will be a glorious set of entertainment and exciting battles as our contenders shall fight the local population in this new unknown dimension!"_

"What?" Calvin was just as worried as I was when he heard the host speaking about this special. "Unknown dimension? Fighting the locals?" I couldn't believe my ears. An interdimensional special episode on some unknown world? That explained the disappearance of Galvanax, but we never imagined he had gone that far from us. "Why?"

"This cannot look good." Sarah stepped away in disbelief. First we were battling hard and well against the monsters in this world, now we were facing the fact that he was in a different one, far away from our own and we couldn't do a thing to stop him from gaining power or inciting fear to another innocent world.

Or so I thought until the predicament with the scorpion right about now…

"Wait…" Then, a thought came to mind. Something wasn't right about how things worked here. "If Galvanax is in another universe… Then how could broadcasting between universes be possible? Heck, we don't even know travelling between other universes is possible."

"There must be a way in." deduced Calvin.

Suddenly, Mick was just looking around the screen for any signs of interaction or any possible connection to wherever Galvanax was.

"There!" He pointed at the screen and we looked to where he directed his finger at. To our surprise, a small portal opened up from the coordinates where Mick had locked in earlier. From out of the portal, a little robotic drone came out and drifted off as the portal closed. Of my time in Galaxy Warriors, I recognized the type of the drone.

"One of Galvanax's probe drones." I said. "That's got to be our ticket in! Galvanax's drones always return to the ship for recharging. If this is how he's transferring footage of his battles this way, then we could have our chance to go through the portal."

"Okay. We found our way in. Easy." said Preston. "Now, we just need to know **how** to get there."

At this point, Sarah was already formulating a plan to get us into that portal. It didn't take her that long to come up with something.

"I've got an idea." she announced, catching our interests all at once. "Mick, lock on to that probe. Quickly."

"On it, Sarah." Mick tapped into a few buttons on the keyboard based on Sarah's instructions. With a few clicks here and there, he managed to lock onto the drone within just a few seconds. "Got it."

"That was fast." remarked Calvin.

"You'd be amazed by what I can do with a few bits of salvage from Galvanax's ship, some bits of old rusty cooper wires, and a spoon of peanut butter." We all stared confusingly at Mick for that mention of peanut butter. "Yeah, the peanut butter was for my appetite. Sorry." Forgetting about it, we returned to the task at hand.

"Okay, so now we have the probe's coordinates, we will take the Astro Zord and follow it." continued Sarah.

"So, when we tail it all the way, we could follow it into the wormhole!" Levi followed up.

"Precisely."

So with all of our preparations in place, we were ready to pursue Galvanax to wherever the heck he was and save whatever world he was about to terrorize. We were off to our Astro Zord and to the cosmos!

* * *

We waited outside the nearby park for our Zord to arrive; somewhere private and discreet where we wouldn't attract too much attention.

I had already used up my Zord Star for the Astro Zord and now we were waiting for it to arrive. We looked out for any aerial signs of it, hearing for any weird noises like the whirring motion sounds it would make. It was cloaked as well, so we really had to watch out for it, or someone would be bound to notice.

"Look!" We didn't have to wait long for it. Up in the sky, I could faintly see something flying towards us. It then began to take shape, revealing itself to be none other than the blue alien spacecraft that was our Astro Zord, uncloaking itself just when it was about to reach the ground.

It landed down on the grass in front of us. Unfortunately, that was when we had to move quickly because those loud whooshing noises it made were getting louder and louder, probably enough to make people wonder what the commotion was about.

"Let's get out of here before anyone notices!" AS one, we all rushed in; me, my team and a few extra passengers…

"Why are we taking Cody with us?" asked Calvin as he stepped on board, looking at the husky who just jumped in with us.

"Come on, Calvin." whined Haley. She and Cody were inseparable, so it was natural that both would need each other's company. "Someone has to watch out for him. Who knows how long we'll be away?"

"You could always send him to your parents or… Whoa!" Haley would have none of it and just shoved her boyfriend into the Zord with us.

"Just get in!" Then, we were followed by Mick and Redbot, climbing into the Zord before its doors were shut closed. We strapped ourselves in for the ride with Mick in the driver's seat. Putting the pedal to the metal, the sudden rumbling of the Zord shook us a bit, letting us know that it was taking off.

We could then feel the pulling force of acceleration take place as the Zord was now in the sky and within a blink of an eye, zoomed away into orbit. We could feel the pull of gravity pressing against us while the Zord was penetrating through the atmosphere.

After an agonizing few seconds of painful force, we were suddenly and immediately relieved by the event of the Zord pulling out of the orbit and into space. Good thing the Zord had an in-built oxygen supply system, or we would have been done for.

We couldn't really see the Earth from inside since the Zord did not have windows from where were, but I was quite heavy-hearted when I left the planet. Ten years ago, I was kidnapped right after my father was gone and my brother left behind, to be in a ship filled with awful crooks and bad eggs all over me; discriminated beyond belief. My times in space were just dreadful and unpleasant. The only times I ever enjoyed myself there was the moment I met Redbot and Mick, and getting out of the ship for the first time in a decade.

Now, leaving the Earth again did make me feel a little queasy. But knowing I had friends, true friends, to back me up this time, I did feel better. And we were about to do something right for a world we have never been to. That's what we Rangers do.

Mick typed in the coordinates to wherever Galvanax's drone was located and the Zord made the jump to hyper speed, vanishing off away from Earth and into deep space.

* * *

We reached the point where we just couldn't figure out where in the universe we were after we successfully reached our destination. I took a deep breath and hoped that this mission would go as planned. We messed this open door of opportunities up and Galvanax would find out and close it shut and we lose our chance to help save another world from his terrible game show.

Mick took a good look at the scanner, with Redbot at co-pilot seat. They paid close attention to wherever the probe drone would be. The whole area around was just pitch black space, according to Mick, so finding the probe in the middle of nowhere could either be a hit or miss. All hopes were on the Zord's sensors to pick up the drone when it would arrive. We miss this, we would lose our ticket in, or at least wait until another probe comes out, but who knew how much more terror Galvanax would bring to that world.

"Found it!" Right on point, Mick spotted something within the scanners. Bringing up the Zord's frontal camera, we could see from the overhead monitor that a lone probe drone was already on route from wherever it came from.

"Quick! Let's catch up to it!" said Sarah.

"But let's do it quietly. We can't attract any attention to ourselves." I reminded.

"Redbot, lower engine power and let's move in a little closer to that little drone." Mick ordered. As instructed, Redbot slowed down the ship, drawing power away from the thrusters and the Zord was slowly moving. Mick directed his controls on the Zord and followed the drone.

We couldn't see what was going on, but for the past few minutes, we were going smoothly without any warning. Even so, nothing was as tense as this. The stakes were high and we could not afford to mess it up one bit.

"Okay…" Mick continued to drive the Zord towards the drone as both machines cruised through the stars. Then, all of a sudden, we felt the ship coming to a complete stop.

Was this it? Did we get detected? Would the drone make a run for it? Questions flooded my head with more concern than ever before.

"There it goes." Mick announced to us. "It's going through another portal."

As luck would have it, the plan went as planned. The drone was in the middle of warping itself into the wormhole which came out of nowhere.

As it disappeared from the radar, it was soon our turn to enter through the portal and take on Galvanax elsewhere. It was now or never. We looked to each other before everyone laid their eyes on me for some words of inspiration.

"Alright, guys." I told them all. "This is where we go to parts unknown. To the great dangers of the mysterious world of wherever Galvanax would end up in… And uh…" I didn't really have much to say yet. I was so focused on thinking about what to do when we reach there that I didn't prepare something for the team.

"Nice going, Brody." I could hear a mixture of sighs and snickers going around. I rolled my eyes and shrugged my shoulders, showing that I at least tried my best.

Without further ado, Mick prepped the Zord for a run towards the wormhole, setting the controls and adjusted the levers to full throttle before the portal would close. The acceleration of the Zord caused our seats to be rocked all the way back as we sped for the portal.

Everything that came next happened in an instant as we had one more powerful force pushing us back as the ship finally made the jump into the wormhole and off to another dimension, to whatever perils or wonders may greet us there.

Well, as luck would have it, we were in for a whole menagerie of all sorts of troubles we would end up with.

* * *

The jump from one universe to another must've happened in a flash, no one knew we made any trip across the dimensions. It was just one blast of hyperspace and the next second we knew it, we stopped.

We all took a little breather from the powerful force of the jump from our universe before looking to Mick of what became of us next.

"Ergh…" It looked like our good friend came down with a case of intergalactic motion sickness. Maybe he shouldn't have had that peanut butter sandwich before space travel after all.

"Are you alright, Mick?" asked Redbot, clearly unaffected by the law of physics acting on us humans and dog. Speaking of which, Haley went over and patted Cody, comforting him from the nauseous travel.

"What do you think, Redbot?" said a completely woozy Mick. "I'm sure you're glad you're a robot, or this whole… Umph!"

Mick held in his breath before letting out a gut-wrenching barf down on the floor, making us feel just as disgusted.

"Ewww!" Sarah's face cringed at the sight of Mick letting out a nasty puke. The poor guy was always in a pickle when it came to space travel. That one time when the Warrior Dome jumped to hyperspace to Mars, Mick felt so wretched in his stomach, he let out an even more disgusting pile of vomit. Needless to say, Ripcon wasn't too happy with it and punished the both of us to cleaning duty for the next three Earth weeks.

Redbot decided it was time we checked out where the drone, and Galaxy Warriors, brought us to this time. He brought up the overhead monitor up to display what was outside the Zord. The screen showed us the sight of the world Galvanax was currently terrorizing.

We saw a planet almost like Earth, with landmasses and a huge body of water all over. However, what was different was that the world looked quite damaged, as if its lands were fragmented by a catalytic event, its continents looking more like large islands than actual land masses. What was even more blighting to this system was the tragic sight of a moon completely broken apart like it was hit by some powerful force that devastated a portion of its surface.

This whole place must had seen better days, and worse still, Galvanax was down there trying to do more harm.

"That's the world Galvanax is at?" Levi looked on. "It looks so… broken…"

"It reminds me of the planet Vamnar during one of Galvanax's competitions there." I remembered one day when I was doing some sanitary duties during one of Galvanax's competitions on said planet.

The planet itself was heavily devastated by some orbital bombardment by some evil band of bandits who ransacked the entire planet and left it for dead. Galvanax sure didn't help with anything when he made the planet his arena for more destruction and violence.

Now, he was about to do the same thing here, and it made my heart burning with fury. We had to do something to stop him, or another planet would fall to the hands of evil forces like Galvanax.

"Okay, what's the plan, Brody?" asked Preston.

"Mick, if you can, get this Zord to scan the entire premises of each island. We'll need to find where Galvanax is concentrating his forces into."

"Sound plan, Brody." Mick complied, flying in close to the planet and making contact with the surface. It was another brief agonizing moment of surging through the atmosphere before we eventually made it through.

We had to spend another half an hour for the Zord to take a thorough sweep throughout one of the landmasses on the planet. After all that scanning, we managed to pinpoint several deployments of Kudabots and Bashers throughout that one continent. Our course was plotted and now for the plan to be set in motion.

Within that continent, there appeared to be multiple small settlements or towns throughout the land, but the landmark worth noting was the huge technological city with a towering castle right in the middle.

At least now we knew that the planet was not at all defenceless, suggesting a proper society with a proper government to defend itself against any threats. Regardless, it was the perfect place to incite terror throughout this place.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do." Everyone huddled around to hear me out. I had considered the options of our movement throughout this unknown area and the parts my team should play in setting up our fight against Galvanax.

We all agreed that no one in this world, no matter how innocent or helpful they could be, would know of what we were to avoid any more chaos from spreading. Even if we were heroes, we couldn't risk escalating the crisis against these governments in this world.

"Mick. I need you to pilot the Astro Zord and keep watch from up in the sky. Keep yourself cloaked and monitor our positions."

"Consider this Zord operational and ready to serve." Mick affirmed. I then looked to the others.

"Also, I need you to land everyone to different sections of that city. Each section will be run in pairs, except for one more for one Ranger."

Of course, Calvin and Haley selected each other to check out one location, also brining Cody along for the ride. He's always been more of a help to the team than we ever thought, so taking him with them could prove to be useful.

Sarah and Levi both chose to go together as well to cover more ground. That left Preston to handle his side of the mission solo.

"Well, that means I'm going alone." sighed Preston.

"Don't worry, Pres." Sarah patted his shoulder. "We'll get back together when we have Galvanax right where we want him."

"But what are you going to do, Brody?" asked Haley.

"Since we know that there are Kudabots swarming around the city, I'm going to do some stalking to see if I can get a lock on the grand scheme of things. Once I find anything, I'll get back to you guys as soon as I can."

Now, there was just one more person I needed to address. Or should I say, some **bot**?

"And Redbot." Finally, I had something for Redbot to do. Normally, I would have him stay with Mick and assist him with his task. However, this was a new world to explore. I was not sure what I would come across when I patrol the rest of the outer perimeter. "I still need some help with my tracking in the forests. So, I'm going to need your help in this."

"What? Me?" Redbot looked surprised that I asked him to come with me. He also sounded very hesitant to come along in this perilous scouting mission too. "Ummm… my systems dictate that I should stay here with Mick."

"No, Redbot. I need your help in your sensors to help detect trouble while we move through the forests."

"But, Brody…" He still wanted to refuse, but I really needed his help.

"Come on, Redbot. When have you ever let me down?" My words kept Redbot in a tight situation. There was no way I would ever doubt Redbot for any help in the past. I know I can count on him, and during this time, I needed him more than ever.

"Hmmm…" Redbot processed through his gears again, thinking whether he should accept my request, or stay out of it. After a while, he reached a verdict. "Oh, alright…" He reluctantly agreed, satisfying my need for some company. "I can't refuse a chance to help my human friend."

"Cool." I stood by his side as I prepared to send the team off. I volunteered to go first to begin our mission. "Then, it's settled. The five of you will start checking out the city for any signs of suspicious activity while Redbot and I start searching for any traces around it."

Altogether, we brought our hands together for a group cheer. On the count to three, we threw our hands in the air and shouted out our group call.

"Ninja Rangers! Fear no danger!"

* * *

And that brings us back here where I've successfully cut that scorpion creature down. Beforehand, I got to see the local wildlife around here, watched as one of Galvanax's contestants get totalled by a group of teenage women with some nifty weapons and now, killed a giant bug which nearly made Redbot and me into skewered snacks for its appetite.

"Power Down!" I de-Morphed back to my regular self. In my human form, I kept my Power Star in the safety of my pocket and went over to help Redbot.

"You okay, Redbot?" I asked him. He was looking in tip top condition, apart from the apparent shivers of his metallic body. Who knew robots could learn how to become fearful? But Redbot was still braver than I would admit it. He's gone through worse.

"All systems are still functional, Brody!" he assured. "Though my nano-receptors could still use some reconfiguring after that scorpion gave me the creeps."

"Well, at least we're done with that bug." I turned around and, to my surprise, the body of the massive creature had vanished! All that was left was a small shroud of black mist blown away into the wind and disappearing into nothing. Things were just getting weirder with each surprise in store for us.

But forgetting about the encounter with the scorpion, one thing was achieved in my scouting mission so far. There was some building up to Galvanax's forces throughout these forests, so it would mean that our sworn foe was definitely getting ready to do some major damage to this planet. I feared that whatever he wished to do this place or whatever he wanted out of it, it wouldn't be good for us when he would return to Earth.

On the bright side, there was some comfort in exploring this world, knowing that there were people who would be able to handle the monsters themselves. Believe it or not, even I'm downsized in terms of skill compared to what these humans could do with. With enough time to getting to know these talented fighters, perhaps they could prove to be great allies in our fight against Galvanax.

But, in the way of the ninja, much more had to be learnt before a critical decision is made. There was clearly a bajillion more stuff that I needed to understand about this whole place. For now, I must conceal myself away from anyone involved in protecting this planet until I know I can fully trust them.

I've got a feeing, though, that these fierce warriors could be the right kind of help we need. We faced a common enemy, so we had to become allies, but I had to be very sure first, and then I would decide what to do next.

It's been like a day since I separated from my team, so I figured I'd give them a call to see how they were doing. I used my wrist Datacom to contact the other Rangers, speaking to the device while looking at the miniature screen.

Within a few beeps of the device, the call was ready and I called out to everyone, hoping to get a response.

"Hey guys. Do you read me? This is Brody."

Few seconds went by…

I waited for a word…

" _I read you loud and clear, Brody!_ " And the first person to respond was Preston! Thank the Grid he was able to answer my call.

" _Sarah and I are doing well so far, partner._ " More good news came when Levi also talked into the channel, speaking on Sarah's behalf too.

" _So are Calvin, Cody and me._ " And finally, Haley joined in, letting me know that she and the other boys in her life were all just fine.

" _Whoa… They have good reception here._ " Sarah spoke from the other line.

"Well, let's hope it stays that way. Keep in touch." I told them next. "Remember, we cannot afford to reveal ourselves to anyone, no matter whose side they're on. Not until we know if they're truly in need of our help. The way I see it; they probably won't need it. But just stay sharp. As soon as we find a way to get rid of Galvanax from this world, we will get right on it and be on our way back home. Good luck, Rangers. And may the Power protect you."

"Right!" The final seconds of the call ended with all of us acknowledging our continuation of the mission. I put off the Datacom, headed back to Redbot and resumed my own part of the plan to catch Galvanax and stop him from conducting his ultimate plan, whatever it was…

* * *

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED…**_

 **More reviews came in! Time for me to respond to you guys!**

 **Matt22152:** **So many intriguing expectations, right? XD**

 **R98 : ****There you go, mate! Your guess was spot on! Hope you enjoyed the story so far!**

 **Also, thanks to AnimeNerdYuki235, ChoyTheUSChamp, RXWriter and holy dragon god for giving the fic a favourite, plus AsianSanta and davyt0247 for following!**

 **As always, thank you for the feedback and keep on reviewing!**


	5. A Booming Rematch!

**Chapter 4: A Booming Rematch!**

 _ **~THIRD PERSON POV~**_

Emerald Forest

It was almost a few hours since the incident at Forever Fall. A greener forest not far from the other of red leaves was as quiet and serene as ever, except with beasts of Grimm roaming around.

Deep in it, a settlement of primitive human buildings stood there. Adults going around exchanging stories or simple talks while some others carried out labour duties such as gathering wood and bringing home the spoils of hunting. Children were also seen playing with each other, running around or playing ball without a care in the world other than the enjoyment of having fun with other kids. It was another day of unprovoked joy and peace.

Not for long…

For somewhere behind the nearby shrubs, two conniving beings looked upon the community in the village. One lazily sat himself all the way on the top of a tree branch while the other quietly watched from within the vegetation, eyeing closely at the simple life happening in front of her. She was slightly put off by the irritating low noise of her partner's tiresome yawning from above her.

"I'm bored." he sighed before shifting his attention to his more responsible counterpart. "Hey, Emerald. Have you ever wondered why we're here?"

"I dunno, Merc." Emerald sarcastically moaned. "Perhaps it's because we're just meant to do the things we do. Spread disaster to rise from the ashes and make things better for low-lives like us."

"I meant, why are we here? In this forest? Spying on some boring village in the middle of nowhere?" quirked Mercury.

"Shut up." Emerald kept on watching the scene from afar and ignoring Mercury's unnecessary monologue. The girl felt a minor sense of doubt at what she was planning to do with the people there. It involved a new kind of involvement from an unknown force which she knew was still capable of causing some damage. She hoped that all would go well with this plan of Cinder's.

 **ZZAAPPP!**

The two fighters jumped at the sounds of warping noises nearby. Mercury nearly fell off his safe spot as he clung onto the branch by wrapping his arms around it while hanging on upside down from his sleeping position. He let go of the branch when he was stable enough and landed down on the ground, shock replaced by annoyance by what had triggered his fright.

The two looked towards the other way and found that they were joined by their new partners from outer space. Walking towards them were two large alien creatures, Ripcon and Toma Bomba.

"About time you showed up." groaned Emerald.

"I wouldn't care less about your timing." argued Ripcon loudly, causing Emerald to shush them up with her finger to her lips.

"Just keep it down." she whispered roughly. "You'll scare off the villagers."

"And what's wrong with that?!" Toma Bomba boasted. Emerald was starting to lose her patience with these clowns. She wished she could just unload a few rounds on their thick skulls, and she would have had the chance if it weren't for Cinder's watch on their roles in the plot. Not that she hated her for it… "Terrorizing a bunch of sissy humans is what I do best!"

"Well, could you just hold up for a few minutes?" For now, Ripcon complied with Emerald's demands. She then signalled for the General to witness what she had in mind for their partnership to kick off. "See those people over there?" She pointed towards the villagers who were still unaware of their presence.

"Yes…" Ripcon nodded, curious with Emerald's intentions. "And let me guess. You want us to do the dirty work? Mess around with them while you do whatever you intend to do."

"Well, look on the bright side." said Mercury. "You'll be able to do some damage while you're at it."

"Yeah, feel free to do whatever pleases you." added Emerald. "We just need you to cause some commotion enough to lure out some Huntsmen out so we can make things easier at our end."

Toma Bomba didn't need to argue with the two. He was already liking the idea of causing some mayhem and ruin some lives. As if some worthless humans would make him think otherwise.

On the other hand, Ripcon needed to think this one through. Toma Bomba could barely hold on his own against one of these Huntsmen, let alone be outnumbered by a team of them. If he could imagine himself being in his shoes, he'd be very concerned by the sheer strength of what the locals here could do.

Then again, Toma Bomba was just some ordinary contestant. He was a General in the service of the galaxy's greatest warrior! There should be nothing wrong with challenging a bunch of female humans to a fight. He's dealt with worse before, so why stop now? Besides, Toma Bomba could serve as a meat shield for the blunt of their attacks. He had his sights set on total victory if he would come face to face with one of these human fighters.

"Very well." agreed Ripcon. "I will take the pleasure of making those miserable humans suffer."

"Good." Emerald smirked, glad that the alien accepted her request. From this moment forth, the partnership between them would begin with a bang, all in the name of Cinder's revolution and Galvanax's rise to power. "Then, go nuts."

* * *

 _ **~RUBY'S POV~**_

Beacon Academy,

Vale,

Okay. Let's get the facts straight.

First, I had to snoop around the city just to find something to do and I went about getting rid of the Grimm outside the walls of the city. Then, all of a sudden, a big monster and a group of other blue guys just came on over and attacked me.

I really ate too many cookies that day. But, it wasn't fake. What I saw was all real. Legit. Real. No hoax. No hallucination. It was a hundred percent **REAL**!

And my friends saw it too. They saw what happened and they did not deny it since. So, this new problem, we had to do something about it. We needed to do what we had to do.

Tell the Professor. The great and wise Headmaster himself. If there was anyone in Remnant who wouldn't know a thing or two about the mysteries of the world, it was Ozpin.

But I was wrong! When we reported what happened, Ozpin just stood there, looking out the window as always and told us that he had never heard of such creatures before. Well, so much for wisdom.

And so, we asked what to do next. I was so hoping we could be out there looking for that beast. Bring him in for questioning, make him feel absolutely terrified. Oh, how I waited to have a rematch and beat the living dead out of that overgrown bowling ball!

But alas, the rematch never came. Shucks. And I was so itching to sink Crescent Rose's blade right at his thick skull!

Ozpin just told us this. Do absolutely nothing and let the authorities do the investigating. Yep, the most boring assignment of them all, if you can call it one. Of course, everyone else on the team agreed with him. I, on the other hand, wished to argue, but knowing Ozpin was leagues away from me, I could not do anything about it.

In the end, I was to sink back to bed at the dorm, cursing mentally at not being able to go out there and do something to save the city.

"Hrrghhh…" I laid on my back, hands on my tummy as I tapped my fingers on myself, praying to Oum that I would finally see some action again. It was still the middle of the semester and I would not want to waste my excitement on boring classes again.

After what happened at Forever Fall, I wanted to pay that walking bomb back for the brutal beat-down he gave me. Thanks to Ozpin and city regulations, my expectations were down the drain.

Anyway, after what happened earlier, I really didn't know what to make of my fight with that monster. I've fought many beasts of Grimm uglier than him before, but I've never seen such a monster. He's got the attitude that would make Torchwick jealous, and he even had the right mind to retreat when my team came to my rescue.

So, he was crossed out as some new Grimm. So if he wasn't a Grimm, then what was he? That question bothered me for the whole darn day.

Then, I heard a knock on the door. I shot back up to see my sister, Yang, looking at me with that loving caring look she would give every time I end up getting hurt from some wacky adventure.

And then came in the rest of my team. They all crowded around me to see if I was alright.

"Hey, Rubes." called Yang. "You okay?" She then had the decency to playfully jab me at the shoulder. Sheesh, Yang! That hurt!

"Ergh!" I let out a cry of slight pain. "I'd be fine if you hadn't punched me there."

"Whatever, sis." She just casually walked towards her top bunk bed over Blake's and jumped up before facing back at me.

"Okay, first of all. What the heck do you think that monster was?" asked Weiss, only now interested in talking about the creature. "I've never seen or heard of any monsters other than the Beasts of Grimm."

"Me neither." added Blake. "Well, not as far as I've reached through the books in the library. That was just… eye-opening."

"Well, whatever it was, the headmaster already told us to never set foot outside Vale until the authorities can get their hands on the matter. And I concur." Weiss crossed her arms together in that know-it-all attitude.

But it wasn't Weiss' portrayal that was bothering me. It was Ozpin's own orders for us to stay put. I didn't need to hear his orders twice, Weiss!

Then, Yang looked at me and noticed the frustrated look on my face when Weiss mentioned Ozpin's words.

"Come on, Ruby." she assured. "I'm sure it's not that big of a deal."

"Not a big deal?!" I yelled. "Yang. That was one of the best fights I've ever had all the two months! I was so close on getting a rematch with that metallic loudmouth and put him out of his place!" I slammed my fist into my palm, just picturing the ugly face of that monster below it.

"We just found you struggling to take down that creep." cleared Weiss. "If anything, you were probably not doing a single thing to that monster." Sure, like I needed the discouragement, Schnee…

"On hindsight, Ozpin does have a point." Blake spoke. "This is a creature not even he knows. If not even knowledge will help us, then what can we do?"

The room was silent again. It looked like our heads were spinning around trying to understand what was going on around here. Just two months ago. We were involved in a huge battle after the city was breached by the White Fang.

I got that strange feeling that Beacon's sitting us out simply because we failed to stop the Grimm from attacking the city. Good thing Doctor Oobleck had us covered since it was he who led us to that mission, but I hope no one's blaming him too for the attack.

I really wanted to go out there and find that beast again. Not to just slay the monster, but to bring glory back to team RWBY! That was all I wanted for our team. I had to do something to get my team back in the fight; Ozpin or no Ozpin. I got back up with an idea in mind and I really hoped my team would be with me on this for the sake of all of Remnant!

"I don't know about you guys. But I think we should, _ahem_ , bend the rules a bit."

Right from the start, everyone fell suspicious. I could easily tell from the stern looks on their faces.

"Ruby…" Yang slowly tried to get to me, but I couldn't let myself get interrupted until they heard me out.

"I'm tired of sitting around and doing nothing while Vale is under attack by some creature from the unknown. We have to act while we're still vulnerable." Well, Vale was still going through repairs after the Grimm attack, so we had to make sure nothing went wrong. "I know we have a lot of other teams out there protecting the city, but I want this team to help out as much as it can before any bad guy shows up. Who knows what would happen next when these monsters would strike again." I put my hand to my chest, letting myself feel the importance of defending the innocent people of the city encourage me further. "So, whether Ozpin likes it or not, we have to do this."

I looked to my teammates who at least let me continue my speech. I was so hoping that they would be with me on this.

I was so wrong…

"Ruby." Yang tried again. "We can't just jump into action without Ozpin's approval." She jumped down from her bed and came to comfort me. "I know you want us to do something about this whole situation. I want to help you out. Blake wants to help you out. Heck, even Ice Queen over here wants to too."

"I do?" Weiss silently whispered, but I could see Blake elbow her for those lousy words.

"We all want to do what you want to do. But now's not the time. We need to wait for our teachers to say something to us first. For now, we stay here and make sure to protect the city from the inside against any possible threats like the White Fang."

From all that Yang said to me, I couldn't help but feel unsure about myself. I thought the team did have my back on the matter that we could go out there and help our fellow Huntresses and even the Army to combat these freaks.

Well, that didn't go to plan. I was left without any other option. If my team wouldn't help me with the city, then I might as well do the one thing I thought I would never do.

"Fine." I said to Yang, giving them some relief. They're so going to hate me for this…

"Then you guys stay here!" I announced to them from out of the blue. "I'll go find that monster myself."

I saw the stunned expressions on their faces, shocked by what I had told them I would be doing. But I didn't really care. I needed to do something for this city and I had to do it now.

I leapt out of my bed and just walked past the still stunned team, walking out the door without a care in the world.

"Wait!" I heard my own overprotective sister yell from back at the dorm. "Ruby Rose, where are you going?!" I hated to disobey Yang, but I was still true to my word. I will go to find the creature and bring an end to his mad reign of terror.

"I'm going to make a difference." I shot back at Yang. "If you won't follow me, then I'll go on my own." I carried on, not looking back once. My team just stayed there without any action. At least, Yang had one more push to try and get me with.

"Now you just wait right-!" But nothing came. I just heard her stop in the middle of her yelling, telling me that someone had stopped her. Maybe Weiss since there was no point for her to try and stop me. Or Blake since she was not looking for a fight with me about now.

Nothing could stop me now from protecting this land. And it was not just Vale I wanted to help.

I had to go and save anyone who was unfortunate enough to live outside the city walls. Forget the Grimm. I needed to make sure that those poor villagers were safe from that monster first. He wanted to commit harm. Now, he'll have to get through me to do it…

Team or no team. I'm going to make sure the city is safe.

* * *

 _ **~THIRD PERSON VIEW~**_

Everything seemed to stop when Blake put a forceful hand on Yang's shoulder. The blonde boxer turned around, eyes starting to glow red from her mounting anger. Blake did not flinch one bit. She knew her teammate's tendency to go into full fury when things were stacked against her. But this was not necessary, especially since it involved her little sister.

"Yang." the Faunus girl spoke. "I know you want to help Ruby, but getting mad at her is not going to solve anything." Her stern expression showed her bravery against the hot-headed teenager.

For a while, Yang let her steam get pumped out, but seeing Blake's undeterred stare, she suddenly felt like there some truth in her words. So, with a huge puff of air, she let her power drain out as her temper recovered and her eyes returning to her usual blue.

"She'll be fine." Blake reassured with a calmer voice. "She'll probably see the reason to listen to us after a while and come back. I mean, it's Ruby after all, right?"

All Yang could do was cross her arms together and kept on frowning with concern.

"I hope you're right, Blake." sighed Yang. "Ruby's not entirely a quitter."

"Well, I just hope that brat knows her place in this. Someone needs to show some respect around here." complained Weiss.

At once, the room fell silent again. Not to say it was an argument, but this little debacle was less than settling. Their team leader just walked off to do her own thing, causing much worry among the group. They could only hope that Blake was right about Ruby being dissuaded to come back and everything would be alright.

Even after her brief burst of anger, the stress built up by Yang remained, making her feel much encumbered with pain in her head. There was only one way to soothe the headache. Time to head to a nice little place where she could cool off and um... do some R&R with a few boys.

"Where're you going now?" asked Weiss inquisitively.

"Where else?" Yang bashed her fists together to express her answer. "I need to get something to cool my head off with. And maybe bash Junior's face while I'm at it." With that, the blonde brawler exited the room and off to wherever and whoever she could sink her fists in and blow up with Ember Celica around her wrists.

Then, just when the heat was over, it was Blake's turn to move out of the room, walking off away from a lone Weiss.

"And where do you think **you're** going, Blake?" Weiss again questioned. Blake just turned around to face her to truthfully answer.

"I'm going to the library to study some books." she said. Deep inside her, she had a gut feeling that all of the strange happenings going on, something would have to be done to prepare for the inevitable. "I dunno about you, but I've got a feeling that somehow we'll be involved in all of this."

"So you think Ruby's got a point?" Weiss raised an eyebrow.

"I only said it was too soon to act, which means that we could be dealing with these things again in the future. The least I can do is get some knowledge about anything related about these monsters. Then if we do get into conflict with them again, we'll be ready." After letting Weiss know of her stance in the matter, Blake resumed her way to the library. "If I **do** find a book…"

Now all alone, Weiss had to sit down on her lower bed, rubbing her head of the drama that had happened in the room. After a minute of cooling down, it was decided that she herself had to venture out and come to her senses before she'll faint from the distress.

"I need some air…"

* * *

 _ **~RUBY'S POV~**_

Yep, that was it. I finally left the room and headed my way for the next ship to the city and then outwards to the great outdoors.

I took a quick route to the main hall of the school, but I had to be very, very quiet about it. I couldn't just let anyone know that I was leaving off to some unofficial business.

A good look around the hall leading to the exit and so far so good. Since no one seemed to be present at that time, I made my way and dashed for the door with my trusty Semblance of extreme speed before anyone did see me.

It took me a split second to speed my way from the huge door of the entrance to the fancy looking marble walkway, stopping just about in front of the statue of three glorious Huntsmen taking out a few Grimm. I sure hoped no one saw my trail of rose petals behind me. Lucky thing the petals get vaporized after being shot out from my cape.

With no time to lose, I quickly ran for the airstrip to catch my flight to the city below. I booked my trip and settled in for the ride to the urban jungle. From there, I would try to find my way to sneak out the gates while avoiding any attention from security, especially since Professor Ozpin could have told on some guards to watch out for anyone on their list. I was only lucky to get the permission from the headmaster to leave the previous time, but now, I am practically grounded.

I had to play the part of the rebel because who knew where that monster could be right about now. My Crescent Rose was sharpened and ready to slice, bullets were prepped and my energy's at an all-time high. I was definitely feelin' the burn!

So once I got to the front entrance, I saw some guards blocking the entrance with a few more walking about making sure no more Grimm could come into the city while we're still healing. So, security's buffed up at this point and I'm sure Ozpin's got them notified on letting certain teams out or keeping others in.

No problem…

I just took a cue from those old spy movies my dad always watches and snuck underneath an armoured truck heading right for the exit. I hung on and hoped that no one would check where I was. Nothing serious happened like any White Fang activity after a month, so I don't think they needed to scan the truck I was under.

But boy, did it stink underneath the truck! Gassy smell, smoke coming out from the exhaust and… was that headlight fluid dripping out of the… Wait, what am I saying? There's no such thing as headlight fluid. Great job, Gavin…

Thankfully, after they stopped at the gate, they let the vehicle through and I was good to go. I waited for a little bit, doing my best to not puke at the smell of gasoline. Then, after a good minute, I sped my way out and into the woods. Freedom never felt so good!

Still, I had to take a little dip at the river, soaked up my clothes before giving my Semblance another shot to dry them all up to get rid of all that icky dirt and gasoline on my clothes. It wasn't enough to lose all of the dirt, but it would have to do.

And so, now that I'm out, the search was on! That monster would have shown up somewhere in the middle of the kingdom by now, doing who knew whatever damage he was inflicting. For all I knew, the creature could be rampaging around in a village or settlement out there, harming righteous people and making lives even worse than they needed to be. I sped through the trees, jumping from branch to branch with my speed boosts all the way.

I've been going on for so long that it must had felt like an hour because I've been speeding across the forest until I started feeling very tired after using my Semblance for a while. I had to stop to rest at a tree after losing a lot of steam in my trek and sat down by its trunk.

While I took a break, I had the time to wonder about the monsters I fought. I didn't know what to expect. Could they really be aliens? I remembered the big one saying that he was from some planet or something.

It's possible. I just don't know since the people of Remnant have never been to outer space before. There's so many possibilities right now and I was trying to process it all from that one encounter in Forever Fall. I have a huge knack for imagination so just try and imagine how many things I could think of… Still, all of this was a blur for me, even trickier than myself.

Whatever happened though, I wouldn't relent. I wouldn't rest until every last one of those creeps were wiped off from our planet. That's what a Huntress should be doing to make this world a better place.

 **BOOM!**

Ahhh! An explosion! That must be it! I got up from my resting spot, dusted myself up and made my way for the chaos zone.

* * *

 _ **~BRODY'S POV~**_

 **BOOM!**

I was just on my way around the forest in what seemed like a few hours since my little fight with the scorpion creature, with a few more of those black wolves here and there. Then, all of a sudden, there was this huge blast coming from nearby.

I've been patrolling this area for any signs of Galvanax's forces, and wouldn't you know it, something happened right where I found a nice little town during my scouting mission. Immediately, the explosion was enough to trigger an alert in me. I had to go help the people there, even if I had to reveal myself to them. I may be a ninja dedicated to the missions at hand, but we ninjas are never above conspicuous. We won't just let one single mission get in the way of saving lives, doing whatever it takes to make sure no one gets hurt or worse.

"Brody!" Redbot yelled in shock from the noise of the explosion. "Did you hear that?!"

"That was hard to miss, Redbot." I answered him. "We better go check it out!"

"My sensors indicate that the explosion came from a nearby village!" reported Redbot, but I didn't really need a direct answer to know of what was happening over there.

"Which is why we need to make our move!" I was already a step ahead and with Redbot behind me, we ran for the village. Whatever was going on there, those people needed our help and we were ready to assist them no matter what the consequences.

* * *

 _ **~RUBY'S POV~**_

Just when I was zooming to save the day, I stopped at the scene of the crime. And what I saw was another hurtful sight to see.

There I was, a village in flames. The straw roofs of the huts were burning all over and the wooden walls were being broken apart by more the flames. I saw people running for their lives; men, women and children. These poor people. They just wanted a life of peace away from the busy city and then all of a sudden, there was something making them suffer from all of this chaos.

I tried to hope that I had found my quarry; the big bomb-looking beast, but I had to also assume that this was another Grimm attack. But last I checked, Grimm don't make things explode. Unless they may had damaged something explosive, but these were rare in Grimm attacks. Or it could be a bandit attack, but so far, Vale has been bandit-free ever since security over the kingdom intensified.

Well, no point speculating now because I had people to save! I ran forth, passing through other people on the way while looking for the source of the troubles. I tried to get people to calm down to help them make their way out in a single file.

"It's okay! I've got this! Everything's under control!" But nothing was working since they all just ran right past me in fear until there were no more left. Well, so much for order…

"HELP! NATHAN!" Then, I heard the shrilling voice of a lady in distress, calling out a name out as she cried on in desperation. I tried to look around for any sign of anyone calling out for help within the burning mess of things. I ran past one house on fire and suddenly, I was startled by a bit of the burning straw and wood falling down in front of me, causing me to jump up with a shriek. Dear Monty that really gave me the jumps!

I continued on in search of the woman somewhere in this settlement. As I reached for some destroyed marketplace, I saw the woman, sitting down on the ground, weeping out like crazy. I ran to her to see what happened to her.

"Ma'am!" I yelled out and got her attention. "What's wrong?! You got to get out of here!"

"No!" The lady cried at me, tears dropping down. She was really in a panic. Something was definitely wrong here. "My baby's still in there!" She pointed towards a burning house and I was shocked to see that it was a burning house, saying that her child was in there! There was no time stalling to stare at the disaster. There was a little kid in need of danger and I had to do something to save him.

"Look!" I told the lady. "You got to get yourself out of here! I'll go find him!"

"Are you sure?!" The woman looked to me with both hope and fear etched on her face. I took the sight to heart and gave her a knowing smile.

"It's my duty!" I managed to put up a cheerful smile to let her know that I had things in the bag. "Just get to safety." I knew the mother was reluctant to let me go through the smokes and flames for her child, but I really wanted to let her know that I needed to save him for her. No one should go through losing a loved. I should know because if I didn't help her son out, then she would go through the same pain my family did years ago.

Thankfully, she agreed to let me through. She did as I asked and ran for safety. Meanwhile, it was time for me to be the hero and save that poor boy. I ran to the burning house where he was in. I listened out for any screams or noises that he could be making from inside, but to my worrying, there was nothing. Just the crackling of burning wood and hay in the air. That was when I had to break my way in.

I deployed Crescent Rose to scythe mode and reached for the door to give it one mighty slash. My blade crashed the door open as it broke into pieces. Then, I was able to see the inside of the house. How horrible it was to see the destruction happening within that one house. I could see furniture in blazes, wooden walls turning charred black and the toxic smell of the smoke was as sickly as I had ever smelt it.

To block off the smoke from my nose and mouth, I grabbed my cape and covered them with it. I squinted my eyes thanks to the thick smoke getting to my eyes too, so I was almost handicapped by the fire. Good thing my cape is slightly fire-proof. That special fibre really did the trick. But I said slightly so it could still catch on fire if it is left too long in an inferno.

With of my courage, I went right into the raging fire, covering up my face as much as I could while also allowing my eyes to see through. Once inside the flaming living room, I looked all around to find the boy named Nathan.

I coughed up when I somehow breathed in the smoke. It was like a poisonous cloud of lethal gas getting into my body making my throat course and my breathing difficult.

Still, I moved on, not letting a bit of smoke get in my way. I pushed through the thick smoke while still looking for the boy inside. I tried to call out to him, but the smoke was just everywhere and I couldn't open my mouth for even a second. There was no other choice but to look on, but it's bad enough that the smoke was getting into my eyes too.

But then, just when it looked bleak, I found something on the floor. I looked very closely down there and I could see a pair of little legs. That was him! It had to be!

I moved in to find out for myself and surely enough, it was the legs of a little boy, lying down unconscious in a fetal position. The poor boy wasn't moving one bit and when I bent down to check, thankfully he was still breathing.

There was no time to lose. I took the boy in my arms and decided to remove the cloak from my mouth and use it to shield him from the fire. If I wanted to have him alive and out of here, I had to make a run for it. So off I went, holding onto my breath while dashing for the exit.

The fire was getting worse. I know I could tell when debris started to fall on top of us. But I never stopped. I just ran! Ran like the wind! With all the Aura in my body, I thrust myself forward and BAMM!

We were finally out!

 **WHHOOSSHH!**

 **KRAKKK!**

And just in time too. When I landed on the ground, I tightened my grip of the boy, carrying him closely to my chest while the whole building collapsed. When the troubles were over, I got back up, coughing up a few and looked to the boy cradled in my arms.

There was no time to adore the cute little guy. I went back out weakly to find his mother. When I was out of the village, I saw her sobbing and having her hands covered while being comforted by another villager. I came forth to give her son back to her and she looked at me.

Her face was riddled with so much relief, I would think she could come at me with the biggest hug ever known to man when she saw her son safe and sound. She did run and took hold of little Nathan before using a free arm to give me a light hug for saving her son.

"Thank you so much!" She said in between sobs. "I was so worried!"

"Just doing my job, ma'am." I told her with a big smile. After that, hugging her still sleeping boy in her arms, she walked away while being led by the man next to her, who then gave me a nod of appreciation.

I watched on as the last of the villagers walked away from the disaster that happened right behind me. Turning around to look at the damage, I took out my Crescent Rose and began to walk back to the danger zone. I hoped to find any more survivors or more importantly, the source of the fire.

But just when I was about to step back in, I stopped to my feet at the sounds of maniacal laughter coming from within the village. The bombastic tone of the laugh was very familiar to me, so much so that I knew who it was right from the moment I heard it coming.

He was there. I wouldn't be surprised if he was the one who caused this fire in the village. I knew all along that he would be back to exact his terror upon the people of Remnant and he would stoop so low to threaten an innocent village and its people.

My anger grew when I caught the culprit's silhouette coming from out of the flames along with shorter figures coming from behind him in a line. There I found the one being I've come for. The one I've been SOOO willing to hunt down and bring to justice!

The big bad bomb beast…

I gripped Crescent Rose tighter, prepared to make a move if the creature was going to make his move already. He locked eyes with me and gave another bellowing cackle at me upon meeting again.

"Well, well, well!" he exclaimed as if he was insulting me. "It seems we have a visitor! Little Miss Red has come to save the day! What a bunch of space baloney!"

I wanted to come back with a snarky comment of my own, but I was too caught up in taking him down to even make fun of him. I was going to make him pay for what he did to these poor people. He was no better than the Grimm or any bandit. He was a crook and all crooks will go down the same way… To fall victim to the wrath of my scythe.

"What do you think you're doing?!" I yelled. "Why are you hurting these people?!"

"Why not?!" That annoying bug just shrugged his shoulders like it didn't matter to him. "It's what I do. Rampaging throughout the land and making people suffer. I love my job!"

This guy was seriously getting on my nerve as he continued to mock me. My teeth were gritted with fury as I felt even angrier at him.

"You're not going to get away with this." I declared, having Crescent Rose into gun mode ready to shoot his thick head. If anything was learnt from the last battle, it all came to the headshots and that was my specialty. "I'll stop you this time." I aimed my rifle at him with my open eye squinted into the scope and my trigger finger itching to make the shot and take this guy out.

"Don't be so sure, you little squirt. This time, I got backup." taunted the monster again.

"Yeah. Like your buddies behind you are of any challenge." I called back at him. Did he really think his blue pals could take me on like they did last time? Fat chance, I thought.

"I wasn't talkin' about my Kudabots." He pointed behind me, suggesting that someone else was in the party. I spun around to see what the heck he was talking about.

"HARGH!"

"YEEP!" I jumped out of the way just in time before a pair of swords were swung at me! I landed on the ground to get a good look at my attacker. For the life of me, they just got creepier and creepier when I saw this other monster wearing samurai armour and had white spiky hair coming down from his horned mask, holding his dual swords down on the ground after he tried to kill me.

So, we got a new competitor in the game. Just how many more were there and what in Remnant did they want?!

"Hehehehe." The new monster snickered. "Foolish human. You were not prepared, were you?"

"Sheesh!" I yelped after breathing out from my shock. "They get uglier every day!"

"Enough talk!" Suddenly, that monster just pulled his swords together and charged at me in a dash. I still had my Crescent Rose in gun mode so I had to jump up again before he could slice me up. In the air, I aimed my baby down at the samurai-looking warrior and fire a couple of rounds on him. The bullets knocked into his swords when he blocked the shots. They seemed to have been powerful enough to knock him back with each strike, but the guy still stood there like a champ! By the time I landed down, Crescent Rose was already transformed into her scythe form and I made my way to one up the guy in a one-on-one blade duel. I slashed him from the top and I struck him from below. Yet, he managed to parry my attacks with equal speed. I spun my weapon behind me to gather enough strength for one heavy swing. But even my strongest strike was blocked! He crossed his swords together and caught my crescent blade before I could make a hit on him. As I struggled to release myself, he was holding on like a Deathstalker's pincers. He then swung his swords upwards and threw me off guard.

It was then his turn to attack as he slashed his swords at me. I swung and spun my scythe around clashing his blade with mine with each attack. After some strikes, I flipped backwards to gain some ground and shot one bullet at him while doing the flip. Strike! I hit him on the shoulder and he got knocked back. As he clutched his shoulder, I dashed forward to give it another go. I swung my weapon down hoping to get him, but he sidestepped out of the way as my blade stabbed the ground.

He slashed his sword again at me while I was stuck, but I gave the blade a nice kick which knocked the sword from his right hand. I smirked thinking that the guy was vulnerable now, so I made my turn and continued attacking him with my scythe.

I was mistaken when he used his other sword just as fast as he would with both of his weapons! Using that single sword, he blocked every single one of my own moves without fail! He kept on defending himself until he landed a kick on me, forcing me to flip back away far enough for him to reach for his other sword.

"Enough of this!" He shouted at me as he crossed his arms together. I stared at him wondering what he would do next. Then, I saw his eyes open up and flashed white. What scared me in the end were that his blades were now on fire. Purple fire.

" **DOUBLE SWORD DOOM STRIKE!** " He then gave a double swing of his swords out on both left and right, releasing two energy slashes, before slashing both of this swords downwards to shoot out another pair of energy slices.

There was nothing I could do. They came so fast that I had no time to dodge them or even block them. Instead, with such poor luck, I let the ultimate attack hit me.

The pair of blasts slashed through me like a ghost going through my body.

"AAAHH!" And it was so painful! More pain than I've felt since that White Fang guy kicked me in the head! It was like lightning striking through your chest and it just stung my insides really bad. After a split second, the force of the attacks propelled me all the way back, sending me flying to a tree. The crash was even more hurting as I hit my back so hard I could have sworn I heard a cracking sound.

After that near-fatal blow, I fell to the ground, unable to move anymore. My body was hurting in so many places, I was just crawling on the ground. My legs didn't work and my head felt like bouncing up and down, and the pain kept on going with each bounce inside my head. I had never felt this weak since that last sparring session with Yang almost two weeks ago. It was worse when you felt a gashed wound in your body. Luckily, I wasn't bleeding when I touched where the hit struck me, but it still felt like my innards were being cut away.

I could still see the blasted freak who cut me down, just toying with my mind by taunting me. I could hear the cackles from both him and the other big guy, followed by the rest of their troopers. They crowded in front of me, waiting to finish me off.

"Now finish her off!" This was it. It looked to be my final battle. Fallen in the hands of some creeps I didn't even know where they came from.

At least I would die, knowing that I saved a bunch of innocent people doing so…

Goodbye, cruel world. Goodbye, dad. Goodbye, Blake. Goodbye, Ice Queen.

"Hey!"

Goodbye, my dear sister, Yang… If only I listened to you…

"With pleasure, boss!" I closed my eyes, praying to Oum that I would see him in heaven…

…

…

" **HARGH!** "

Then, I heard an explosion. I opened my eyes hoping that my death was painless and quick. But, to the greatest surprise ever, I wasn't dead! I tapped myself to see if I was dreaming, but it was all too real.

But I didn't feel the joy of being alive just yet. What I saw in front of me next were the two big guys being pulverized by some unknown force. The rest of the creeps behind them were somehow vaporized into nothing!

Someone actually came to my rescue! But the question was, who was it? It was then that I had the sinking feeling that my team was right behind me. Oh boy. Looked like I was going to get an earful from Yang again. Here we go…

"What?!" The samurai monster yelled in disbelief when he looked behind to see my saviour. I prepared all the words and excuses I could give to my friends for bailing out on them like that, and I would be ready to face the punishments for dissing them out for this…

"Hello, Ripcon! You're uglier than usual!" But then, a voice came out. It wasn't that of Yang, or Blake or even Weiss. In fact, it was a voice I've never recognized. It sounded like it came from a man, young and energetic.

Who the heck just saved me, I thought. So I looked behind me to find my hero.

Right there, up in the trees, there was another strange sight. There was some dude dressed in a red spandex uniform and wore a red helmet with a visor shaped like a shuriken. In his hand was a yellow blade unlike anything I've ever seen in my life of weapon mania. He leaned against the tree standing atop a branch while looking down at the creatures.

Who was this guy? And where did he come from? From what I was hearing, he was talking to the monsters as if he knew them.

"You!" The big bad samurai guy yelled, confirming my suspicions. "Impossible! How are you even here?!"

"I was beginning to miss all the fun. I noticed you were gone for a while back home." The red suited warrior jumped down from the branch with grace and locked eyes with the monsters.

Things were getting very complicated now. I couldn't help but yell out in confusion, mimicking something that Yang went through during initiation, if only a little more patient.

"What's going on here?" I let out a frustrated cry out, desperate for a single answer that could just solve everything! "Who are you?" I faced the red warrior.

"Don't worry, ma'am." He then came over to me and helped me up, giving a hand as I painfully got back up. "I've come to help."

"Umm… thank you?" I didn't know what to say about this sudden request for help. Not that I didn't want it, but I was still so curious as to what was going on. But I couldn't have the time to ask when I saw the two monsters in their attack stances again.

"Uh oh." I yelped again. "They're about to attack and that one on the right looks really grumpy now." I pointed at the samurai fiend who looked like he was really going to eviscerate us. All I got from my saviour was a casual response, throwing in another satisfied remark.

"Yeah, he's always like that." He said as he twirled his sabre round and round in his right hand. "Nothing really comforts him more than someone else's suffering, and that's what makes me sick of him too."

At least I could feel that he did not take the monsters too kindly. In fact, when I heard they 'made him sick', I knew there was someone I could trust in this.

"I don't know how you got here, but I'm going to end you once and for all, Ranger!" shouted the samurai monster. What's a Ranger? And what kind of twisted rivalry did these two have? Again, more questions came in this extraordinary experience.

"Oh you know why I'm here." He pointed out his sword and aimed it at the monster. "I'm here to make sure you and Galvanax do not threaten another world with your little game show!"

"Game show?" I yelled. "Is that what this is all about?! You wanted to make my home a place for a game show?!" My nerves were now on fever-pitched hyper mode! The fury had somehow given me the adrenaline to push the pain away and face the enemy and show them that they've made a big mistake! "That's it! You're both going down!"

However, I looked to my side at the so-called Ranger, making sure that he knew what was going to happen in this fight. "And if **you** think you're going to stop me…"

"Let's do this!" But I was shut off when he began to grab the shuriken centre on his blade. Last I checked, this was **my** fight! I started it, fighting for my fellow people. Who was this guy to take over for my fight?

"Wait, what? No, I'm the one who-!" No use. He just spun that shuriken and his sword lighted up in a laser aura. As cool as that was enough for me to drool all over, that nosy brat just couldn't let me…

" **NINJA SPIN!** "

Ugh… What's the point?!

 _ **TO BE CONTINUED**_

* * *

 **A/N~ Did anyone check out the latest RWBY Blake short? OMG! I'm getting excited already!**

 **Anyway, finally the heroes of different worlds meet at last! I feel I've written a filler chapter since it only serves to bring Ruby and Brody together to the fight. The next chapter however hopes to bring a powerful theme for both characters. If you're a fan of both RWBY and Ninja Steel, you'd probably guess it if you think about it. But for now, I left the chapter on a cliffhanger for development for the next chapter.**

 **R98:** I'll take a look at those fanfics soon :) Thanks for the suggestion!

 **Also, thanks to Matt22152, EmperorofCrossovers, Brandon Vortex and Lance Eterna for the new likes and follows!**

 **Leave a like or a review, and I shall catch you all soon!**


	6. Red Like Roses

**Chapter 5: Red Like Roses**

 _ **~BRODY'S POV~**_

It was time to turn up the heat!

" **NINJA SPIN!** "

I spun the Power Star on my blade and gave my sword a massive energy charge. I set my sights on Ripcon, the one guy I really want to mess up. A ninja shows little pride in their rivalries against their enemies, but for Ripcon, I'd be happy to thrash my weight and blade around him.

"Wait, you!" I stayed my course, ignoring the scythe-wielding girl I had just met only a minute ago. Just a moment ago, I think she was about to rant at me about stopping her from fighting or something, but I didn't pay any attention, focusing on fighting Ripcon and the other monster next to him.

My body rushed forward and made contact with the annoying piece of garbage I'd been forced to work under for a decade. I instantly locked blades with his own two swords, resuming our little competition. I knocked his blade away and tried to swipe him in the face, but he managed to swing his left blade to defend himself from my attack. He then moved to slash his weapons at me, forcing me to move out of the way by flipping back. I went at him again, swinging in a couple of kicks with both of my legs one by one, smacking him at the shoulder which sent him thrown back.

"Why, you little-?!" I always enjoyed interrupting Ripcon when he did his smack talk; this time, I managed to punch him right in the face before he could finish the sentence. It wasn't enough, but the sudden silencing was worth the hit. I tried to use my Star Blade to strike his chest, swinging as hard as I could. Then, Ripcon blocked the attack with one sword before lunging the other at me, cancelling my double strike.

* * *

 _ **~RUBY'S POV~**_

The nerve of that punk! How dare he defy my demands?!

Ugh… No use for some speech. I had to get into the action as well. This was my world to defend, and I wasn't going to let some unknown guy in a suit have all the fun doing it! I had my Crescent Rose **scythed** up… ahem… and ready to rumble with the other monster. He was my quarry.

"So it's just you and me, huh?!" The big fat monster screamed like some tough guy at me. If I had the time, I would have rolled my eyes from the annoyance. I was already about to smash his face with Crescent Rose by swinging it towards him. When he blocked the attack, I quickly spun the other way to attack his legs. I did hit the legs, but somehow they seemed to have been able to withstand my strike.

"Nice try, girly!" he taunted me again while I kept on failing to hurt him with a few more strikes. "But I came prepared. Your little scythe is worthless now!" Sounded like he had been given some upgrades to fight me when he came back here. I had to be very careful now. If he had his armour upgraded, then his weapons might had been to.

So, I jumped away from him, just in case he was about to fire his lasers at me. I transformed my weapon to rifle mode and fired on him with more AP bullets. Letting lose a bullet every second, I aimed for the head, remembering his weak point.

He managed to block his head, like he did last time, the bullets flew away in different directions. The moment I landed on the ground, I got my scythe on and rumbled on some more, trying to deal enough pain to find another angle.

I swung my weapon here, and I stabbed him there, but all of my attacks just couldn't faze that monster! His armour was tougher than the Paladins I fought during the Breach. He sure was deadlier, too. With two lasers built in his arms and a tough punch if you're not careful, I don't think anyone would be lucky to get out of a scuffle with him.

"Ergh!" I growled, trying to sink my scythe into that thick head of his. "Make it easier for me and, DCH…!" Again, another strike and still nothing! "Just fall!" I'm sure that fat bozzo's holding up my attacks without fail and he's taunting me because of that.

"Fat chance, girly!" Makes sense, considering he was exactly that. **Fat.** "You keep slicing, I'll keep blocking!" And that's what we kept doing the whole time, me swinging Crescent Rose onto him, and his armour just kept on bouncing her back. There was not hurting him at all.

I'm sure that red ninja guy's got better luck than me right about now.

* * *

 _ **~BRODY'S POV~**_

I'm sure the girl with the scythe's got better luck than me right about now.

Ripcon was sure one tough cookie to crumble. I suppose being outsmarted and beaten by me all these years could make some learning really important for him, and boy, was it working.

After a while, I would notice Ripcon getting tougher to beat every time I face him. And it showed in today's battle, he did a lot of work building himself up for our next encounter. His swords swung faster than I was used to and the force of the strikes growing stronger with each hit. I had a tough time getting my Star Blade to repel his swords.

He then used his swords to swing from above and dive them down on me. I used as much strength as I could muster to push my blade against his. However, the force of the blow was too powerful and my weapon was dropped to the ground. Ripcon then kicked me at the chest, sending me thrown backwards.

"Hah!" Ripcon bellowed as I fell. "You've clearly lost your touch, Rat Bait!" Ergh! I hate it when he calls me that. "Now, just submit yourself to Galvanax again, and you will be spared!" I cringed at the thought of returning to a life of slavery and forced work. There was no way I was going to go back there. Never!

"Not a chance!" I gave him a nice kick to the stomach for reminding me of my horrid days. But I didn't land the hit when he grabbed my leg. He then gave one big pull and threw me away over him. I fell to the ground with the force of a big boulder, crashing into the ground with a loud bang.

My back sure felt the extreme pain of a crash landing. It'll live, but it could definitely use a few days of recovery after this was over. If I could survive, that was what I thought.

* * *

 _ **~RUBY'S POV~**_

I heard a loud thud on the other side of the field and there I saw the red stranger being thrown to the ground like a ragdoll. The big guy who sent him flying grabbed his two swords together from the ground and walked towards him. My new 'friend' was struggling to get up, slightly crawling about on the grass.

Serves him right for rushing in without my help!

I had to help him out, but I was still entangled with the bigger monster fighting me right now. I looked for an angle, one that could help me get away from this creep so I can get that guy's butt back up.

I had to keep using Crescent Rose to both attack him and defend myself from his own big punches. Every time he threw a fist at me, I struggled to fight back the force of each blow. He must had been some boxing champion wherever he came from. And it wasn't helping that whenever I jumped out of the way to get a shot with my rifle, he would fire his big lasers at me. One actually seared right through my lovely cloak! That darn alien pest was about to pay for that…

Speaking of which, just why in the world would they even think about making Remnant an arena for some big game show? It was easy to see why since we've got all sorts of dangers and challenges in store, but I preferred those stuff for us locals only. Why did a bunch of aliens have to choose our world as their next setting? I do enjoy some entertainment of the violent kind, but only when watching it, not being part of the competition!

And this 'Ranger'. What role did he have in the game show? From the looks of it, I thought he was one of them; another contestant looking for some fun out of the show. But after seconds since first meeting him, I kinda had the feeling he was not much of a contender, simply someone willing to put an end to the violence. Just like me…

But still, this was my world to defend, and I had the responsibility to show him the ropes of how Remnant works, even if these were his enemies.

Back to my fight, I wanted to break myself away from fighting my monster and go help the 'hero' in red spandex. But if I move away, I could get vaporized by those super lasers of his. I had to look for something else to at least stall him so I can move to save the day.

That was when I quickly found a way to do it. After I knocked the alien off with a kick to the face, I ran behind him and took my scythe, aiming right for the nearby tree behind him. As I came to the trunk, I gave my weapon one mighty swing and chopped right through the bark, severing the tree in half.

Then, after cutting the tree, I looked back and saw the monster getting back up after my little foot to his face. He turned around and growled at me. Well, I was like, 'let's see if he finds this worth groaning about.'

"TIMBER!" I yelled out as the tree began to tip to its side and dropped on top of the big alien. I could see the look on his face when he saw that big tree coming down on him, his legs just sinking lower.

"Uh oh…" I heard him squeal a little before the big trunk clobbered him down, pushing him all the way to the ground. After the tree crashed, I could see him squirming around dizzily with the tree weighing down on top of his belly.

With his strength and power, I knew it wouldn't last, but I couldn't help but stick my tongue out at him for the amount of pain he put me through so far. I got my head back in the fight as I saw the other alien with the swords now standing right above the ninja guy. I picked up Crescent Rose and ran for him as I was going to slice him up before he could do harm.

* * *

 _ **~BRODY'S POV~**_

So I supposed this could had been worse. But I was just about going to get cut down by Ripcon, of all creatures… I couldn't get up because my body was aching all over, keeping me down and being unable to stand back up. There was no stopping Ripcon from preparing to eviscerate me as I could see him scrapping his swords together. I could just feel his intent on ending me for good; a feeling I knew all too well after being at each other's throats for years.

It just sucked that our rivalry was going to end this way. Victory for Ripcon…

"Say goodbye, Rat Bait." he gloated as he raised his swords at me. "You should've come back to us when you had the chance. Not that you would like it anyway." He was going to stab both blades into me to finish the job. I wanted to get up and stop him from skewering me, but my body was too ached to even move a muscle.

Ripcon was about to thrust his swords into me when I heard some high-pitched battle cry coming from behind me.

"HIIYAAA!" There was just this blur of scarlet red just zooming by and crashing into Ripcon like a lightning bolt. I could also see these red petals falling down behind that surging bolt. A shrill cry of pain was heard, immediately recognized as Ripcon getting his butt kicked. Now that I was somehow saved, I regained the strength to get back up and saw Ripcon lying down on the ground squirming from a huge fall.

And right behind him, it happened within a second. I just saw the girl with the red hood with the petals behind her. It seemed like she was the one who zoomed like a roadrunner, swiped Ripcon and saved my life.

It was such a fortunate turn of events for us. I had seen her perform such incredible feats before, but it was still incredible to see the power she had used against Ripcon. She just ripped right into him and he took the fall just like that. How awesome was that?!

After wriggling a little, Ripcon got back up to face the girl, groaning in frustration as always. He clenched his fists together, eager to give this girl what was coming for her. But the girl had no fear, as I could see that bright smirk on her face, showing her excitement for the battle against Ripcon.

I moved to pick up my Star Blade to go and help her out, but then, I heard a loud crashing sound behind me. I turned around in alarm to see that the other monster that the girl fought earlier had removed a big tree from his belly. I didn't know what had happened since I was being kicked at by Ripcon, but I'm sure that girl must had used that big scythe of hers to crush him under that tree. Sneaky little warrior, ain't she?

"Now, it's your turn to get blasted on, Ranger!" The loud booming voice rocked my ears, almost rupturing my eardrums.

"Oh boy, a walking talking wrecking ball? Now that's an abomination!" I couldn't help but taunt at the sight of this fat metal beast in front of me. Now that got him really mad as he slammed his fists together and glanced at me with murderous intent.

"Why you?!" He was like a bull as he dragged his foot back and forth before in a second, he charged right for me, hoping to batter me down. Such a predictable move, I thought, so I made one huge jump and let the monster run right under me. He kept pushing himself all the way and crashed himself into another tree, completely destroying the trunk and letting it fall to the ground. It wasn't just any falling tree. The upper half of the tree was just blown away like a football getting kicked all the way from end to end.

The force of that crash was just brutal. But that monster was not done with it yet! He spun around the second he toppled that tree and ran for me again. I rolled to the side and he missed me again. This time, he made one huge stop, dragging across the dirt before facing me, bent on charging at me again. Gosh was I getting tired of this pattern of heavyweight bombardments. I had to find a way to end the fight or I was going to be one flat Ranger.

"Okay, big guy!" I summoned my frog-like Ninja Blaster from my arsenal and aimed it right at the monster. "Time to settle down! NINJA BLASTER!" I let loose a string of yellow electric energy that shot out like a frog's tongue, dangling along as it wrapped around Toma Bomba. Once he was properly wrapped up, I pulled the trigger again and zapped him up. Electricity surged through the tongue-like energy string and finally fired away at the big guy, shocking him up as he bellowed in pain.

Once I let go, he fell to the ground, stunned and immobilized. Now, he was done for. It was time to finish him off like any other good monster.

"Element Star!" I pulled out a yellow Element Star and locked it into my Star Blade. I turned the bladed ring around the Power Star like a dial until the very top point of the star was at the colour red, which then produced a hot smoking fire mode for my blade. The blade was now engulfed in a bright flame which I would use to perform my final attack on Toma Bomba.

"NINJA FIRE ATTACK!" With one single rush of power, I ran right for Toma Bomba and jumped into the air. He was still too stunned to stop me and that made it all the easier for me to end him. When I came down to the ground, I focused the fire power of my blade and plunged my sword downwards.

Once I struck the ground, a large flaming wave of fire raged towards Toma Bomba and threatened to swallow him up right into the devastating torrent of fiery power.

I did kinda feel sorry for the guy. He was so stunned by my Ninja Blaster that he could only yell in defeat as the final attack reached him. But then again, I could take comfort in knowing that he was still intent on hurting lives. He was going to burn down an entire village, nearly harm innocent people. And all for what? Just to lure the hooded girl? He had no right to do what he did and I was glad to finally put an end to his angry rampage.

Finally, after launching my attack, I watched as the fiery wave completely covered him and incinerated him from the inside. Once the flames settled in, a large explosion blew up right in front of me. I knew from this that Toma Bomba was finally destroyed, unable to stand the heat of the flames. The fire kept burning for another few seconds before dying out, and all I could see of the big alien was nothing more than mere ashes.

With Toma Bomba destroyed, I turned my attention to Ripcon and the hooded girl, only to come upon a very worrisome scenario…

* * *

 _ **~RUBY'S POV~**_

After my dash of heroism saved the red ninja, I came face to face with the demonic-looking warrior in front of me. I took him on, Crescent Rose at the ready.

I spun my weapon towards his arm and my blade was almost about to slice it when he blocked the attack with his swords. I then swiped from the other side and he used his other sword to push my blade away. Immediately after that, I swung from above and aimed for his head, but he jumped backwards and safely got away from me.

It was his turn to strike back, charging at me with his two swords behind him. I wasn't going to let get the best of me and took him on by running at him too. Soon, I crashed Crescent Rose against his two swords, locking my weapon in place.

I looked at his face and I could tell he was about to spit a little insult at me.

"Hah!" He growled like some cackling villain. "You really think you could best me in combat?! I was about to finish off that little runt before you came along. So, you would do wise to take me on!"

"Oh, I know I can take you." I seriously spoke back. "I'll beat you yet!" No time for small talk! Smashin' the alien was all that mattered and I would emerge the victor! I tried to make the cut and slashed my weapon at the alien monster as he crossed his swords again to catch my blade again.

But this time, I had the advantage. I swung that blade as hard as I could and so, with the power of my muscles, Crescent Rose completely knocked through the blades and hit the guy in the chest. He fell to the ground and dropped his swords after I hit him hard.

I was so overjoyed by the successful hit on my enemy. It always brought me joy whenever I managed to land a powerful blow to any creature I fight and now I got to smash an alien creature down to the ground. But as always, I held the urge to celebrate and continued to stare down at him. I was going to show him who's boss and end him for good. He threatened my world, so it only seemed natural that I dispose of him.

Besides, I did catch a glimpse of the explosion that the ninja caused that destroyed the bigger alien. So if he was cool with defeating that monster, so it would be fair that I did the same to the one in front of me.

So, I transformed my weapon to rifle mode and looked into my scope to fire my last shot at him. Then, I was a little surprised when I saw him getting back up. I didn't care as I would have to fire my weapon anyway and finally put an end to his mad reign of terror. So, without wasting time, I pulled the trigger and let a bullet loose.

But before my weapon fired, the alien warrior crossed his blades together and his eyes glowed again. I knew from last time that he was going to that super painful move again.

" **DOUBLE SWORD DOOM STRIKE!** " He slashed twice and unleashed those energy slashes at me. The energy crescents coming out of the swords managed to slice my lone bullet in half and then it was all coming towards me. I couldn't find the time to escape as I was too focused on my attempt to shoot him down. Stunned, I just stayed frozen as the attack came for me.

"HYAH!" Suddenly, the attack never came. Instead, I saw a dash of red rushing past me and took the attack, obliterating those energy scythes. The shadowy figure landed to my right and I saw the red ninja guy landing after blocking the attack and saving my life.

"What?!" The alien warrior screamed like a sore loser, stomping his foot just to prove it. "Can't you just let me do some damage for once?!"

"Oh, I'm sure you've done enough, Ripcon." warned the ninja.

All of a sudden, I felt the need to move out and finish him off again, and this time, I had to make sure he stayed still this time.

"I'm going in!" I was going to run at him again and maybe cut his arms off or, as Nora would put it, break his legs!

"No, wait!" But then, I was stopped when a hand was put on my shoulder, making me lose all of my focus and excitement over who tried to stop me. It was none other than ninja boy next to me, telling me to not hurt the bad guy. "Hold on."

"What?" I was feeling so confused as to why he would stop me from beating the bad guy, I had to voice it out loudly. "Why?! I've got him where I want him!" But as I was about to argue some more, I turned to find the monster backing off to retreat. My one chance to strike an alien down looked quite Grimm…

"It seems you're holding back, Rat Bait!" he taunted the ninja. "Big mistake!" Then, he stood still, giving us one more word of warning for what might come next. "I'll be back soon enough, and next time, you won't be so lucky!" And, just like that, he raised his sword in the air and warped away, disappearing to nowhere!

I stared at the scene for a while, not knowing what to say about this so-so victory. We may had defeated one monster, but another got away to do who knew what else they would do. And how many more would there be? Well, no matter how many there would be, that monster got away and must had gone to warn others for reinforcements. And I would've put a stop to it if it weren't for one meddling ninja.

"Way to go, hero boy!" I stomped my foot and glared at the red ninja before me, putting on my angry face, which was a rare treat I'd give to bad guys and big jerks.

"What?" He just shrugged his shoulders, asking me like he did nothing wrong. "What did I do?"

"If you had just let me taken care of that... whatever that samurai guy was, we wouldn't be dealing with him later on." I crossed my arms and pouted my cheeks, mad at him for ruining another good chance for a kill.

"I had no choice." he insisted. "He was stronger than the other monster. If you tried anything at that point, you could have gotten yourself killed. Lucky thing I showed up before he could slice you up."

I was very insulted by this guy trying to be smarter than me and belittling my skills. Did he really know who he was talking to?! I've beaten down Beowolves, Ursas, Nevermores, a Deathstalker and even wrestled down some of Torchwick's gangsters. I didn't see why a bunch of aliens was any worse.

"I could take care of myself just fine!" I argued again, my temper slowly coming out as my fists shook and clenched. Still, the ninja kept on talking back at me like I'm some little kid. I mean, I'm all grown up, right?!

"That's not the way I saw it earlier." he said back at me. "I helped you out and this is the thanks I get?" He waved his hands at me exasperatedly and talked down on me, making me sound like a useless nobody. I gotta tell 'ya, if he was a Grimm, I'd slice his head off. But I'm a good human being, so I'll go for a pinch on the ear to shut him up.

"It was my fight to begin with. This is **my** home and I have every right to make the decisions of the fights around here!" I argued again and he still went on.

"But you were fighting **my** enemies. I tried to show you how to handle those punks. Why couldn't you just listen to me?" More and more seconds go by and we kept up the argument tenfold.

"I knew what I was doing!" I yelled. "I was doing my part to lead the fight at hand!"

"You can't be serious!" he yelled at me back.

"Oh, watch me, sonny boy!" At that moment, we just stared at each other menacingly. My annoyance for this guy had gone up the roof and coming down hard like Yang bringing the house down literally. I was probably going to wrestle the guy down for getting on my nerves and I was going to show no mercy.

Before I could throw my weight at him, I heard rustling within the bushes next to us. We both looked at the shaking bushes to find out what was behind the plants. I hoped it wasn't another one of those aliens or maybe another Grimm. Then again, my trigger finger was itching to pull it down to fire at whatever could be hiding there, watching us.

Then, at that moment, it came springing out like a jack-in-the-box! A red robot came from out of the bushes to give me a really bad jumpscare.

"Argh!" I jumped up and quickly aimed my weapon at the robot to obliterate it. Who knew if it was another one of those alien's tricks or cohorts, so I had to take the chance while I was still spooked up.

"Don't shoot him!" But then, the ninja quickly stopped me before I could even fire. I didn't know what was up with him, stopping me from destroying a possible threat, but immediately I knew it wasn't the case. "He's a friend."

After hearing out the ninja, I looked back at the robot. Yeah, it looked like I must had spooked him as much as he did me. He was thrown back towards the bushes when I aimed my weapon and was shaking in terror.

"Drgh…" He was stuttering really bad. Man, for a robot, he had some major fright problems. "D-d-don't shoot me. I'm only an assistant bot!" He sounded like a scaredy-cat, with a high voice and a shaky tone to match.

But with reasonable regret of frightening him, I lowered my weapon to my back and looked on as the ninja picked up his robot friend.

"Brody!" the robot exclaimed. "I've been looking all over for you! Do you know how much woods I had to go through to find you?" The ninja placed his hands on his hips, which was then I witnessed him taking off his helmet to show me the real human face behind it.

I was so relieved that he was another human, a boy maybe close to my age, but my grudge on him just couldn't go away. But I gotta admit, he did look like a nice guy, even if he was dissing me out.

"Redbot, we were only a few trees away." he told his friend.

"Okay." While they continued to bicker, I told to myself, shaking my head to get the confusion out of my head. "This is getting weirder and weirder…" And yep, things would never be the same again…

* * *

 _ **~BRODY'S POV~**_

Sheesh. After my little scuffle with the girl, now I had to stop Redbot from exaggerating with his little adventure in the woods. At least I've had years of experience calming my old bucket of bolts working to a probable level again.

"Brody." With Redbot now stop worrying about me, he had to comment on my idea to abruptly put a stop to my surveillance on the locals. What can I say? I had to do what was right as a Ranger, saving those who would be victim to Galvanax's minions. "What happened to the plan of 'not revealing ourselves too soon to the locals'?"

"Well, let's just say the necessary actions came a bit too early." I answered him in a light-hearted fashion, assuring him that all was good. It seemed to work as Redbot nodded to my answer.

Then, I turned my attention back to little miss Red Riding Hood to my right. She was sweeping the ground with her leg and her hands tied to her back, as if she was trying to ask out a question shyly, but I knew it was more of an awkward feeling than that. I couldn't blame her though. After a brief argument, it was not easy to reconcile with her that easily. Still, there was no point being uneasy with her anymore. We were both against a common enemy at this point, and the last thing we needed was to fight against each other when this whole world was in danger.

"So, uh…" She began to speak slowly, still struggling to find a word to say. There was something very… adorable about this girl, the way she apologetically looked away. I guess it was hard to stay mad at her, so I had to say something to help her catch up to what was going on.

But I didn't get to start early…

 **KABOOM!**

We were suddenly caught by surprise by a nerve-wrecking explosion coming from afar. Our heads shot to the direction of the blast and we knew it was nothing good.

"Huh?" The girl gasped in horror as somewhere in this forest, another attack was possibly threatening another community. "Some more trouble!"

With no time to lose, I prepared to move out and find our new culprit. I gathered Redbot with me so I could relay the plan to the girl.

"Okay. Here's the plan." I suggested. "You go back to wherever you came from and call for…"

"Oh no!" Then, she stalled me, pointing a straight finger at me. I was stunned by the sudden interruption when she continued to bicker. It didn't seem like she didn't want to go anywhere and I had to argue back to make sure she knew what was going on. But I was completely powerless to stop her. "I don't know where you come from, but from what I know of those monsters, you're definitely not from anywhere here in Remnant. So whether you like it or not, I am going to help!"

"What? But I… You…" Poor me. I was shuddering really bad. Something about her resolve to help others was just too good to deny. Sure it was a bit of a stretch to hear an angry kid yell at your face like that, but I was really hesitant to say no. She was so sure that she would help out, even if she was almost pulverized by Ripcon. Then again, she did fare well on her own a while ago against Toma Bomba.

Thus, I guess I could just give her a chance. What could go wrong after some planning before we go all out? Maybe with some direction into her fighting style, we could actually do something better than what we did earlier.

"Ugh… Fine." I finally gave in, seemingly satisfying her. "On one condition. When I tell you where to hit, at least follow." But my little idea didn't sound like a good one for her. Nevertheless, she eventually came to her senses and agreed to put my plan to motion.

"Deal." she finally said.

"Let's get going." And just like that, the three of us dashed off to save the day again.

* * *

 _ **~THIRD PERSON POV~**_

The two fighters and Redbot made their way through the forest towards the site of the blast they heard. When they arrived, they quickly hid behind another bush where they could see what was going on over the burning area.

It was another burning village. Again, this one, too, was empty; the inhabitants must had run off to safety when the violent incident began. Then, in the middle of the town, they saw who appeared to be the one responsible for the destruction of this village.

It was another monster, whose back was completely hunched to a ninety-degree angle. On his back was an arc made of metal frames with what looked like multiple spotlights built across the half-ring. The monster's head was built like a bigger spotlight with the face right underneath the lens. His wrists had square hooks attached and finally, he had four wires on his legs, two plugged in each limb. ( **A/N~ Pin Spot Shadow from Ressha Sentai ToQger** )

"Lights out, humans!" "There's a new star in town and his name is Rotlight!" The monster bellowed like something out of a film shoot. "Bright, cunning and passionate but deadly and spoilt to the core! I make my enemies cower with the flash of my brilliant light!" When he flashed that central spotlight, he let loose a ray of light so intense it merely set an entire tree on fire after just a second before the flames grew larger and larger.

Ruby grew mortified at the destruction this alien had caused while Brody just huffed in disdain. To the Ranger, it was another one of Galvanax's infuriating attempts to entertain the masses by harming other innocent lives. He felt riled up and ready to go. But he also remembered that now he had someone to ally with in this battle.

"Alright." Ruby scowled at the disgusting sight of the alien. "Time to get to work."

"Remember. Just follow my lead and we can get through with this creep once and for all." said Brody, earning an unhappy look from Ruby.

But she chose to remain quiet anyway. For the record, she was well enough with the Red Ranger allowing her to get some action, but she would have to follow his orders to do so. There was no choice but to comply.

Brody wasn't so sure of whether teaming up with this hyperactive and battle-happy girl would be a great idea, especially since they had only met a few minutes ago, and their first encounter was not really a pleasant one. So, for starters he had to make an introduction to get things started. Ruby, however, beat him to it.

"So, what's your name by the way?" asked the teenaged girl.

"My name's Brody Romero. Ninja Steel Red Ranger." Brody introduced right away. "And you?"

"Ruby Rose. Remnant… uh… Red… Rosy Huntress." Ruby's lips twitched at the attempt to come up with some cheesy title to her own name. Brody did not seem to buy it anyway. He had to give her credit, though. She did try to express some humour in her introduction.

"And this is Redbot." Brody showed her the robot she nearly gunned down.

"Pleasure to finally meet you, Miss Rose."

Ruby smiled at the two, happy to finally get things straight of who they were. With that out of the way, the three got back to the plan. They had to do something fast. At any rate, the monster could start another rampage across the region.

Brody had to wonder why no one on this area would come to the rescue. Surely there had to be some form of security around here when they had a complete city not far from where he was. But Ruby knew the full answer.

With Grimm attacks on settlements outside the city being far too frequent, there wasn't simply any time to respond and protect the villagers. Not even her fellow Huntresses and Huntsmen could act fast enough to save everyone in the vicinity. A village would need a miracle to withstand the test of time and be saved by a Huntsman.

But now she had a Power Ranger by her side, whatever that was, and she would show these new monsters what she could do. Then again, she had to do what Brody asked for her, cutting her excitement short.

"Okay, here's what we're going to do." Brody faced Ruby to tell her of his plan. "I'm going to do some talking to that alien. You find a way to sneak around and strike from behind. Then, we'll pull off a simultaneous attack and destroy him for good."

"Awww." Ruby whined. "But the fun would end too fast…"

"Do you want to save your world from these guys or not?" groaned Brody. "We gotta finish him off any chance we got." Ruby sighed in defeat. She had to face the facts. Not everything has to be fun. Then again, this was about saving more lives before that monster could do more danger. "Besides, I'm letting you have the fun of slicing him up with that big scythe-gun thing of yours."

Brody's generous point had some of Ruby's excitement restored, though she wasn't as excited as she usually was.

"Can't argue with that, then." She shrugged her shoulders as she accepted the Ranger's plan.

"Cool." Brody just gave a thumbs up to seal the deal before he turned to his robotic friend. "Redbot…"

"I know. I know." Redbot mumbled, interrupting the ninja Ranger before he could finish his order. "Stay right here and keep an eye out. Why can't I have some fun for a change? A robot like me can have fun too, you know?"

"I'll have Mick give you some upgrades when I have the time, alright?" Brody hastily ended the conversation, which seemed to satisfy Redbot into complying to stay behind. He then faced Ruby who nodded to let him know she was ready to move.

"Let's get moving." The heroes scrambled out to carry out their plan. Redbot ducked down and watched the two of them slowly creep towards the disaster zone.

The monster Rotlight continued to shine his deadly ray of light towards another house, burning it up in an instant. Backed by his Kudabots who were watching out for any signs of trouble or any unwanted attention, he carried on without any care in the world.

"HAHAHA!" he laughed out evilly. "My debut on Galaxy Warriors will be an astonishing event for all to see! I'll show them I'm not just some backstage actor!" The battalion moved on as they kept up the aggression to destroy everything in their sights without stopping one bit.

"Maybe you should have that light checked, 'cos you're just too bright." That was until someone decided to shout out to him. Alarmed, the monster and his troopers looked up to where the voice came from and saw that a challenger has entered the ring.

From up on a tree, he saw a warrior in a red suit watching from on a branch with his sword lying on his shoulder. As of every contestant on Galaxy Warriors, he had to remember the identity of this fighter and loathe everything about him. And knew him, he did.

"Aha!" he ecstatically welcomed his challenger. "At last, my long-awaited opponent has arrived! The Red Ranger!" Once the monster had acknowledged the presence of his enemy, the Red Ranger himself jumped down from the tree with his sword in hand. He then landed on the ground and walked towards Rotlight, showing no fear.

While he was facing up against him, Brody had to stall the alien star-wannabe while his new ally could come around and strike him from behind. If anything had to go wrong like, let's say, the monster attacks first or if Ruby was taking too long before the monster could act too, he would have to think of a fall-back plan to keep up the hurt, so she could do it anyway. She's a skilled warrior, so he thought she would know when to strike as long as the alien's back was exposed.

"Okay, pal." warned Brody. "I'm not just some darn extra, but I could definitely show you how much of a star I could be." Rotlight took the insult seriously and began to speak in his usual exaggerating tone.

"You dare insult me with your over-the-top cockiness! Your powers alone will pale in comparison to my own 'enlightening' skills!" He tried to praise himself to not let the taunt get to him.

"The only skill enlightening enough is that of your ego." Brody kept up the momentum. Clearly, that one really hit the spot as Brody could practically rage build up in the alien, seen shaking all over with hatred.

Rotlight's temper had already reached a critical low before he spat out another angry rant.

"Perhaps you want me to shed a little bit of my dastardly raging light on you? Then, allow me! It's a spectacle worth dying for!" As promised, the alien focused his head lens, allowing the Sun's energy to be drained into the light before he aimed it at Brody.

Like he did before, he let the energy loose and fired another deadly beam of burning light towards the Ranger. Brody saw the attack coming and flew to the side and allowed the beam to fire off into another tree. The impact was so powerful, it blasted the tree in half as the top half of the trunk fell straight down to the ground, leaving behind a charred stump.

"Wow!" Brody took a good look at the damage done. He really had to avoid that light or he was toast. "That's one bright light."

"But wait! There's more!" And just when he was about to take a breather, Brody was about to get a whole lot more where that came from. Rotlight let loose another set of sun beams at the Red Ranger.

Brody jumped and rolled about, zig-zagging through the lasers. He then rolled forward and let one laser fly right above him. After firing all of those beams, Rotlight had suddenly decided to stop and recharge his weapon before he could fire again.

Seizing this chance, Brody ran for Rotlight with his Star Blade while the monster was recharging his weapon. Rotlight caught on and stopped his recharging so he could focus on fighting the Ranger with his own bare hands.

"Ergh!" The monster groaned. "You really are persistent, aren't you?!" The monster was quite slow with such a huge light on his head, making Brody's quicker sword skills much more of an advantage. He sliced his sword with rapid speed and giving the monster a kick in between. Rotlight did his best to block, but the monster was too heavy to defend himself, allowing almost three quarters of Brody's attacks to successfully injure him.

Then, backup had intervened as Bashers and Kudabots alike rushed to aid Rotlight. The Bashers swung their large blades at Brody. With their numbers mounting on him, it was hard to dodge all of those swords. Eventually, Rotlight was able to get away from the Red Ranger's sword attacks and Brody was forced to fight the lesser minions.

When one Basher tried to slice him from the top, Brody moved away and let the heavy blade slam down on the ground. He then kicked off the Basher before jumping away from two more Bashers before they simultaneously swung their blades at him.

Brody was able to break free from the frenzy of Bashers. However, the Kudabots with their laser rifles fired away at once. Brody used his sword to block the shots. He managed to deflect most of the shots, but when the last few bullets hit, his grip on his sword was lost and was hit hard by said projectiles. He was then thrown off his feet and tumbled down on the ground with a few blast marks in his suit and aches all over him. He clutched his shoulder where it burned the most, struggling to get up, his mind was also set on where his ally could be at this time.

"Darn it. I hope Ruby's in position." he told himself. "I could use that sneak attack right about now." He kept his faith in her in check and moved to keep on attacking Rotlight in the hopes that Ruby would eventually land the blow he needed.

* * *

The moment she was given the go to move out, Ruby was already picking out a spot to stay put until Brody gave her the signal to give the monster the surprise attack to call this fight short and good as done. Maybe she wouldn't call it a fight if it was going to be a one-hit wonder. Well, she still wanted to see through this alien invasion once and for all, so she had to listen to the Ranger.

During the verbal standoff between Brody and Rotlight, Ruby found a nice little house, burnt and ruined enough to be ignored and hid behind it, watching the two exchange taunts.

"Alright. In position." She continued to peek over the destroyed building and waited for Brody to deliver the signal she needed to proceed. She found the standoff between them amusing as she listened on to the cheesy dialogue. And she thought these were formidable fighters who should have better material than this… It's like looking at a TV show of the last decade.

But then, when Rotlight broke his nerve so suddenly, she wasn't so sure if the plan would go on well, now that the alien would begin fighting the Ranger. Did that mean she had to go and help him out, or would Brody still try and give her the chance to attack him from behind regardless?

She chose the latter, knowing that a precise and critical hit on the enemy would finish the conflict easier than another prolonged battle. So, she waited for the opportunity when the monster's back would be exposed, whether it'd be at Brody's call or by her own instinct.

As she watched on, she bided her time to when the monster would be look away for her to ambush him and allow Brody to finish him off.

However, the waiting game was starting to make her feel even more impatient as she watched the Red Ranger fight Rotlight in an awesome battle. She wished she could join in to have some fun of her own. She was always one to jump in recklessly and deal some damage to satisfy her excitement. Alas, she knew she had to wait this one out and prioritize ending the fight and wipe out one less monster for the alien invasion.

But then, Ruby was about to get something else that she hoped not to hear. Somewhere in the village around her, she could hear somewhat soft sobbing noises coming from somewhere near her hiding place. She turned her head to find out where the sound came from.

She managed to find out the answer; only to be met with another horrific sight. There was a little girl, sitting down on the floor in fear, surrounded by another pair of Bashers looking down on her.

"Oh no…" Ruby gasped. "That poor kid…" And her fears got worse when she saw that the girl sobbed even more when she saw the terrible faces of the alien soldiers, hugging that little teddy bear tighter.

Then, one of the Bashers then raised its sword up in the air and was about to end that boy's life! Ruby was astonished at this sight. How could these creatures be so cruel to even a little child? Soon, anger took over and Ruby was forced to forget what was going on with Brody and shifted her attention to the girl in distress.

"Oh no, you don't!" Picking up Crescent Rose, she quickly dispatched herself to fight off the soldiers, leaving behind Brody to save the girl. She ran as fast as she could to the rescue. When the Basher was about to land the blow, it had suddenly heard a loud scream shrilling towards it. It then turned to see, but it was too late to save it from the instant cut to its stomach that immediately destroyed it. The other Basher was left stunned by the sudden destruction of its comrade. But it too was cut down by another slash to the chest by a human girl with a red cape before it disintegrated to black smoke.

The young girl then looked up after hearing the dying screams of the Bashers, finding her attackers gone. There was only the big girl in front of her with a big scythe who destroyed the big bad monsters. Ruby finished up her attack and went to see to the girl, making sure she wasn't too terrified by the ordeal.

"Are you okay?" She knelt down to comfort her. The little girl went to hug Ruby tightly, the Huntress accepting the embrace with one of her own. She buried her face in Ruby's chest, wetting her clothes with her tears while Ruby herself let her somehow motherly instincts kick in. "There, there. I got 'ya. No need to be afraid."

* * *

Meanwhile, Brody was in the middle of combatting Rotlight, but was also still stuck with the Bashers and Kudabots that his plan was getting a little side-tracked. He kept on fighting with all he got, trying to find an opening to make the final strike on the head honcho of the group.

"Keep it up, Rotlight!" encouraged Brody. "I can do this all day!" Rotlight didn't need any words to concur with the Red Ranger's threats. All he wanted was to destroy the Ranger and earn a good spot to fame in Galaxy Warriors. He let the Kudabots do the work while he recharged his light weapon.

Just as Brody was almost done with the minions, Rotlight was about to fire his weapon at the Ranger. But then, once he heard some faint screams of Kudabots in the village, he turned around to find something else that interested him.

He remembered that he sent two of his Bashers to patrol the burning city for any survivors to be used for extras for any more of his show time on Galaxy Warriors, believing he would make his appearances stand out more as unique and entertaining. Once he found that his patrol had been destroyed, he found the appearance of a warrior girl saving another human life a little intriguing.

"What's this?" exclaimed Rotlight. "Ah! Another intruder to the set!"

Brody, after kicking away a Basher, saw what made Rotlight distracted. He was suddenly astonished by the sight of Ruby catching the attention of the dangerous foe, and with a helpless little girl involved as well.

"Oh no!" he muttered loudly.

Rotlight was about to do something to raise the ante of his performance. Instead of firing his weapon on Brody, he changed his target and prepared to fire on the Huntress and the girl, horrifying all three humans in the process.

"Ruby! Look out!" There was nothing Brody could do to make Ruby move. She was too scared to even move, choosing to shield the child in her arms and preparing to push her out of the way to safety. The alien prepped to fire his mega laser towards the helpless humans, taking in the joy of watching them getting agonized before they would be vaporized.

Brody had to improvise to save the two of them. He pulled out his Ninja Blaster, doing the only thing he could do at this moment. He fired at the monster's legs, shooting out an elastic electric tongue-like wire and wrapping it around his legs. Too late to realize what had happened to him, Rotlight was then pulled on and tripped towards his back. His weapon was luckily fired up all the way in the air, saving Ruby and the child from sudden death.

The monster was down lying on his back, squirming around to get back up thanks to his heavy weight. While he was down, Brody was about to finish the job himself by taking him down with a final strike.

But once he saw the Kudabots racing towards the two other humans, he knew he was not going to get that chance. He had to let go of Rotlight and race to help out Ruby and the girl. He ran to help them out cutting down all of the Kudabots along the way before standing in front of them, standing firm to protect them.

"Get the kid out of here." ordered Brody. Ruby wasted no time and took the girl away to the safety of the trees. She took the girl in her arms and ran off and protect her from there. The Red Ranger stayed behind to fight off the rest of the enemy left.

Once Rotlight got back up, he was about to charge his weapon again to fire at the Red Ranger, eager to continue the fight. The Red Ranger had already sliced down all of his Kudabots and yet that didn't stop him from going one-on-one with Brody. He was going to show that punk of a Ranger who was boss.

Suddenly, he was put off by an unexpected call from someone else through his communicator. He growled with dissatisfaction, cursing at the person who would ruin his fun.

"What?!" He screamed at his communicator in the ear, not thinking about who was at the other end. Oh, how terrible it was when he found out who called him. "Oh! Madame Odius?" He suddenly changed his tone, being more fearful of his superior for his frustrated rant. "Sorry, milady! I-I was just in the middle of…"

He jerked up in a shock, suggesting that Odius gave him an earful. It was then followed by disappointment, probably by Odius giving him an unwanted order that spoilt his need for an exciting performance.

"But… but… What about my performance?!" Another jerk of his body. Odius was definitely mad at him now. That last yell from Odius was enough for the monster to cease his attack on the Red Ranger and call it quits to do whatever Madame Odius had asked him to do.

"Very well, milady." He put off the call and announce his abrupt end to the debut performance he needed. "This isn't over, Red Ranger! Soon, I shall return to give our show the dramatic climax which we all will take glory of watching with awe and delight!" Finally, it was time to leave. He then warped away from the battlefield, leaving Brody to call out to him, desperate to finish the fight for good.

"Wait!" He yelled, but he knew nothing was going to happen. It was over for now. Brody's plan had been ruined and he was sure to blame one person for not following it through.

* * *

"My baby!" Once again, Ruby had the pleasure of watching a child reunited with her mother, thanks to her, no less. "Oh, thank you, huntress!" She shook Ruby's hand; the teenager sensing the panic of losing her child from her shaking.

Ruby placed her other hand on top of the mother's own, comforting her and assuring that things were going to be okay from there.

"I live to protect, ma'am." she said to the woman. The woman then took the sobbing child in her arms before walking off to join the rest of the townspeople made homeless by Rotlight's rampage.

Ruby would had taken the time to enjoy the lovely scene between mother and daughter, often looking back to what could had been for her if she could have that one moment with her own mother.

But that was all about to change…

"Ugh!" She jumped to hear the grumpy groan of a crossed Brody, turning around to see him stomping towards her. She already felt like she kind of screwed up the plan he had devised to end the fight. "I thought I told you to stay low! You could have struck that monster from behind him and we could have defeated him easily."

"I…!" There was good reason she did, though, because she had to rescue that little girl who couldn't do anything to fend for herself. There had to be someone who could make sure she was safe and out of harm's way. No strategy to defeat a monster could be any more important. "I had to rescue a girl from being hurt! He was about to get hurt from those goons!"

"I know." To Ruby's surprise, Brody simply told her like he knew about the girl.

"What do you mean, you know?" When she questioned the Ranger again, she was only met with him pointing at her.

"Take a look behind you." Wondering what he was trying to say, Ruby did what was told. She spun around and found something almost out of the ordinary.

"EEK!" With one loud squeal, she was shocked to find… Brody? She shot her head back behind her and then back and forth, confirming that there were indeed two Brody's standing on both sides of her; puzzlement now filling in her mind. She shook her head to get rid of the hurting confusion in her head. "Okay… how did you do that?" As soon as Brody was about to tell her, the second Brody vanished in a white cloud of smoke; the loud poof sound startling her again.

"While I was on my way to meet Rotlight, I saw the girl hiding at that house. So, I summoned a shadow clone to go help that kid myself, but apparently, it couldn't do anything when you showed up." Once Brody had pressured his point, Ruby was once again steaming inside. Just how arrogant was this boy going to be?

Brody too was getting fed up with this form of disobedience from his new teammate, surely at wit's end with her now. He had the plan under control, insisting that Ruby focused on what had to be done. Redbot was definitely out of the question since the kid would not be able to comprehend the sight of a robot, let alone one from another dimension. Besides, Redbot was not the master of stealthy rescues. Thus, he had the ability to summon a shadow clone to help out the poor girl, so things could have still gone the other way.

Still, there was no stopping the argument that was about to unfold between the warriors in red.

"Well, you could have just told me that or give me some signal, then I wouldn't have been 'disobeying' your orders." defended Ruby.

"This isn't funny, Ruby." uttered Brody, now willing to prove his point to her. "These monsters are not just some lowlife troublemakers. They are evil. They would do anything to get what they want. That is why I must be the one to show you how to defeat them. Why can't you just listen to me and get your head in the game?"

Ruby understood him. He had every reason to get his head in the game and beat the bad guys. But did he really have to be so downright decisive of her role in the fight? Why must she be the one to follow orders from someone who was not even from this planet, even if it did involve enemies of his own?

She had to do what was necessary. That was why she decided to forget following through and helped that kid. It was her duty and she was about to let Brody have it.

"You don't get it, do you?!" she finally stepped up and yelled at him. "Here in Remnant, it is up to a Huntress like me to make sure everyone is safe. I had to do whatever it took to help those villagers. It's what we Huntsmen do! We would give our lives away to protect those who cannot defend themselves!" She turned away and walked a few inches from Brody while still bent on showing him the devotion of a Huntress. She let all of her passion channel through her mind, speaking in an unlikely mature level. "We would gladly die to protect the innocent. To give them a chance to be happy and safe without getting hurt… or worse!"

At this point, there was a small tear that flowed down her cheek, reminding her of her mother, who did the same things she did… and did not make it out doing so… Sadness was taking over as she sobbed slightly while still somewhat strong in her speech.

"My own mother was a Huntress like me, and she…" She sniffed before going on. "She's gone! Because she sacrificed herself to do what's right for our world. She did so to protect not only my family and I, but the whole world too!"

Finally, it was anger that concluded her word to Brody, wanting to let him know that he had no right to tell her that she wasn't right for battle.

"I'm not sure you would understand!"

And that was when it hit the mark. Brody stepped back, baffled to what Ruby had told him. Ruby expected the boy to at least be taken aback by her words, regretting all the burden that he had forced on her. However, all she got was something far worse.

She saw Brody walking towards her and gave her a serious stare of his own. She could feel the anger in him as well, but she didn't relent, knowing that he was still sticking to his options.

He spoke to her with one final word, but what she was about to hear would send a shiver in her bones.

"You have no idea, Ruby…" he crossly told her. "You have no idea…" And with that, Brody had finished talking to her and just walked off, not wanting to say more. Ruby watched as the Ranger moved off in a cold sweat. Apparently, what she said to him was more than enough to piss him off, but there was a cold feeling inside of her that told her that she may had gone too far.

"ARGH!" She swung her Crescent Rose at a tree, slicing it in half in a bitter rage, mad at everything that had happened up to this moment. The weirdness, the excitement, the clash of opinions… It was more than she could bear and she just let loose a storm of anger towards him, which only made the divide even worse.

She did not have time or energy to think it through, however. All she could feel was resentment and frustration. Her teammate had come out like a big jerk to her. And yet, somewhere inside, there was guilt…

* * *

Warrior Dome

"WHAT?!"

Speaking of anger, one champion was again out of patience. News of the Red Ranger's arrival was already sparking a crowd of disses and unpleasant feedback from the audience. Galvanax was giving out the worst of the frustration.

He was so sure that he had left his worst enemy behind on Earth, so he could find the power he needed in this alternate dimension. Alas, here he was, fighting and eventually destroying one of his contestants yet again.

The champion was extremely livid, breaking down in his throne room and vandalizing the walls with his punches and laser blasts. The Kudabots managing the controls in the room had fled to avoid being vaporized by his raging temper.

"I can explain, sir!" Madame Odius also happened to be in the room when she saw the Red Ranger on the screen. Now fearful of her life, she knew Galvanax was going to give her a taste of his wrath so she could explain her wrongful idea that she could evade the Power Rangers for good.

Thankfully, Galvanax was too busy raging that he didn't seem to care about Odius right now.

"How could that traitor even be here?!" yelled Galvanax. "How could a Power Ranger possibly follow us here?! And who knows if the rest of his team of pests are here as well?!" The concern that the rest of the Rangers could also be on Remnant was now a twist in her plot to gain power. Just how could she deal with both the Huntsmen, the enemy of her new teammates, and the Power Rangers at the same time? They have already even started teaming up to destroy Toma Bomba and made Ripcon flee for his life! What was she to do?

Eventually, Galvanax's angry questions were answered when Ripcon came into the room with a camera probe droid in his hand. He dropped to the floor as to exemplify the point.

"I believe that one of our broadcasting drones did the work for them, Galvanax!" he declared.

"Ergh!" Galvanax rose up again, stomping down to meet up with his fellow leaders. Whether it was one Ranger involved or the whole batch, there was no denying that the Rangers could prove to be a liability again to ruin his plans for domination and glory. "It would be best if we began our attack on this world now. Prepare the troops!"

"Wait, sir!" Again, Madame Odius had to make sure her own plans would come together as well. She had to put her faith in her allies on Remnant. She hoped they would be so cooperative in doing some damage to their enemies.

"Perhaps it would be fair to assess the strengths of our new cohorts down there first." she suggested. "I would like to see for myself if my new friend's word can be kept. That she has with her a collection of fellow conspirators who could actually be of a challenge to those meddling Huntsmen. And who knows? Maybe they'll give the Rangers a run for their money. Either way, the call is yours, sire."

Galvanax just groaned in frustration, impatient at Odius' fruitless attempts to convince him of her alliance with Cinder and her lackeys. Yet, he was going to give another chance, but he was going to make sure she got the hint that her time was almost up.

"Very well, Odius." said Galvanax. "But mark my words. If your new playmates do not fulfil my expectations, I shall be the first to smite them off from existence! And you, Odius, will feel my wrath as well…" He pointed his finger at her chest so hard, she nearly fell backwards from the heavy force of his might. Then, he walked off, leaving a frightened Madame Odius to her own devices.

"Understood." she weakly accepted. Ripcon just couldn't help but cackle at her misfortune. He went out to join Galvanax at his next move, but not before giving Odius one more insult to her injury.

"You better be ready, Odius." he mockingly warned her before leaving the room.

With the two disgruntled men out of her sight, she could only growl at them, willing to show them what she was willing to do them when their time was up.

"Oh, you shall see for yourselves soon enough, simpletons." And then, she moved on, exiting the room to proceed to her next plan.

She had some rearrangements to do now. With the Power Rangers now involved, things had to be much more meticulously planned to combat them and the Huntsmen before they could bring yet another painful lacklustre show to the crowds.

That was when, she decided to cook up something wicked… Something devious enough to solve all of her problems. She just needed some new flesh and blood to do her dirty work. But where was she going to get it? For all she knew, Galvanax would have entrusted the contestants of Galaxy Warriors to Ripcon, now that she was merely 'wasting his time'.

So, she looked to Remnant for the answer and she found what she would need to even the odds against the possible team-up of their enemies.

"I wonder if I can catch myself some new prey for the feast… A few of those other Huntsmen would do nicely… Hmmmm…"

 **TO BE CONTINUED…**

* * *

 **A/N~ Finally, Ruby and Brody team up, but their encounter had only brought more difficulty in their first meeting. Can they fix their partnership before things get worse? Hopefully, I don't mess things up for them in the next chapter~**

 **Hope you liked what I had written here and I look forward to move on to the next!**

 **Thank you for reading and I'll see you in the next chapter!**

 **R98: That'd be nice, but I think it's too generic, but thanks for the suggestion hahaha**


	7. Heroes, One of the Same

**A/N~ And here are we in another chapter! Sorry for the long update, but I'm really pushing chapters for other stories forward now and should be able to post a little bit faster now.**

 **Thankfully, I see some people are still enjoying the story regardless. So here are some of the feedback I've received!**

 **Reviews:**

 **R98**

 **Again, thanks for the review! That might be a good idea, but for now, there are no plans to make a Power Star for Ruby or any of her teammates.**

 **UKNE-12mark3**

 **Keep on reading, pal! There's more where that came from!**

 **And special thanks to slalus3ti4, genesicgaogaigarvsgodgundam (Man, your name, dude XD), anime junkie2, azickwolf, TwilightKingA5L, Bloxxerboy and all the other wonderful people who have liked the story (sorry I didn't mention some of you in the last chapter, it seems I forgot to do it, so here's a late thanks from me to you** **)**

 **UPDATE (29/3/2018):** **Had to re-upload, due to a massive plot hole in the timeline of this story. It has been removed and shall be moved to another chapter.**

* * *

 **Chapter 6: Heroes, One** **of the Same**

 _ **~RUBY'S POV~**_

There were no words to describe my frustration towards my newest 'ally' in the fight against a new evil. I've been put in my place when I didn't do anything wrong. I'm just so furious right now even Weiss could do a better job at cheering me up than that ninja boy.

Darn it. Why did everything have to be so strict for this guy? I'm doing this world a favour. I want my friends and me to get ourselves back into shape and help people again; to bring our team back in the game and prevent more attacks from those who threatened our home. Now, with these aliens terrorizing the kingdom all for some stupid game show, I wanted us to step up and show the world what we Huntresses were made of.

But here I was. Just sitting on a rock after being sent packing like a rookie by some dude who thought he had all the power to stop these freaks. Worse part was that he too was not even from this planet at all! Who was he to tell me what I can or can't do?! Lives were at stake but he was so sure that whatever he did was the right thing.

He was such a jerk back there and I really hope he'll finally understand how things were done here. I did the only thing I could do; yell out my frustration and show him how I felt about his interference. But then, he shoved back and gave me a stern look, uttering that 'I have no idea'. What the heck did he mean by that? What wouldn't I understand from a pair of bossy boots like him? I just don't understand boys these days, even if he was from some other universe where these freaks came from.

 **SHHFT!**

Suddenly, from out of nowhere, the bushes behind me shook; the branches rustled and shaking from something hiding behind them. I quickly jumped back up and turned to face the bush where I found the leaves shaking. I knew something, or someone, was watching me, waiting for the right time to strike. Then, the mysterious person jumped right up and I was about to shoot it down with my weapon.

"ACK!" I yelped, aiming my sights on whatever was about to tackle me.

"Oh no! Don't shoot me! I'm just an innocent assistant android!" But when I heard the person scream back, it sounded very familiar. It was the same electronic voice of the robot I met earlier, and that was who I saw from out of the bush. The red robot that accompanied Brody had popped out, waving his hands at me and begging at me to spare his life… or circuitry? I dunno how robots… live? Darn it!

"Oh… it's you… Redbot, was it?" I asked, making sure I got the name right after a while.

"Yes, it's me." he confirmed. He then stepped right out, dusting himself from the leaves stuck in his hinges before facing me. I wondered why he came to me and what his business was, instead of sticking by his friend's side.

"What are you doing here?" I asked him. "Shouldn't you be with Romero over there?"

"Yes, but Brody needs some time for himself right now." he told me, with a voice that told me that Brody was not in the mood himself.

* * *

 _ **~REDBOT'S POV~**_

 _Previously_

"You have no idea, Ruby." I heard the strain in Brody's voice when he went up face-to-face with our new friend. Once they walked away from each other, I immediately calculated the many probabilities that this alliance could end up in the wrong direction. I was developing concerns over the matter and was starting to get very fidgety about the strain in the partnership. If something wasn't done to solve their differences, then there was no way we could beat Galvanax and his minions before they take over this entire world.

So, as any good friend would do, at least that was what I had programmed into myself, and talk to either one of them. naturally, I went for Brody, knowing that some talking time could help rewire his understanding in the right place.

"Brody?" I walked after him, trying to get him to calm down. "Please don't be upset with Miss Rose. I'm sure she didn't mean it." Brody kept on walking from the girl until he came to a complete stop. At that moment, I looked around and saw that our friend had mysteriously disappeared into the trees, but not before hearing a very loud scream followed by a loud slicing sound. It didn't take long for me to see a tree fall right down into the ground. It was surely the work of Miss Rose as she had that big scythe of hers to cut down the tree.

I turned back to Brody and saw him sigh, looking less angry as he took off his helmet so I could see the more upset look on his face, evidently very affected by the argument he had just had with Ruby.

"I know she doesn't, Redbot." he cleared up, but then, before walking off into the woods, he was once again putting up a disappointed tone as he spoke again. "That's why I'm not happy with her right now." And just like that, he chose to sit atop a huge rock nearby and remained silent. Not a word would come out after he was seated.

"Oh boy." I said to myself. "I guess I should leave you be then." It was then that I decided to resort to walking off to finding the young girl and let Brody get some air to cool down his nerves. I walked away from my old friend, worried constantly about both of the humans. I kept repeating to myself in my head about the consequences of a disrupted friendship that could lead to a very catastrophic outcome for out battle against Galaxy Warriors.

Somewhere in my artificial intelligence chip, I had to do something to mend this and get those two to fight side-by-side the proper way. And that, according to Mick, required a 'sense of common ground and understanding between two parties'. With some form of programming in my head, I seemed to have deduced this as a conversation between two affected parties. So, I complied with my wiring and went to find the girl, knowing it would take a lot of time and words to help calm someone I had just met in another world.

* * *

 _ **~RUBY'S POV~**_

Not to sound rude or anything, but I was kind of confused as to why the robot was coming to me when he was more acquainted with Brody. I enjoyed some company, especially from the less annoying ones, but I was not feeling in the mood for an actual talk with anyone right now.

"So… what makes you think **I** need your company?" I asked again.

"I cannot compute with that question." Redbot insistently told me of his purpose. "But I'm sure you wouldn't mind sparing a few minutes to talk?" He then bowed respectfully, like I'm a guest of honour, but I knew it had to do with politeness. "Just for a while?" I had to think this through. I felt like rejecting his offer, giving myself some lone time to cool off while I look into the sunset. But then, when I thought about it, Redbot must had been a little worried about both Brody and me, so he might had tried to talk to him. If he was here, then I didn't think it went well. So, naturally, I had to let him be.

"Fine…" I sighed, accepting the company for a change. "I guess some talk time couldn't hurt."

"May I be seated on this rock?" I hesitated, still unsure about engaging in an actual conversation with a robot. However, deep inside me, I mentally slapped myself. I just remembered that was when I remembered about doing exactly that just a few months ago.

To my credit, the last robot I talked to was so perfectly human-like with very little 'robot stuff' to leave her any hints. Redbot was different. He was fully robotic with no disguises or fake human features and heck, he even moves and talks like a genuine robot. If I learnt anything from Penny though, it's that you should never judge a book by its cover.

Redbot was a sweet robot, always looking out for Brody out and actually showing concern for him like he was human. A real friend. With that in mind, I motioned for Redbot to come sit with me on the rock. The way he walked towards the rock was kinda silly. His arms would remain angled and would rock back and forth as he walked while his legs were heavy as he stepped forward. It made me snicker a little, seeing how funny the motion was. He then sat down on the rock, a little clumsily since his body was moving step by step.

"Do you often come here to relax your mind?" he then asked me as he comfortably adjusted himself up next to me.

"No." I shook my head, turning my head back to face the sunset. "It's a new place for me."

"But the view is simply admirable." added Redbot.

"Yeah." I agreed. It was a very, as Weiss would put it, serene view indeed. I would always remind reflect on my days, no matter how good or bad they turned out to be. As excited and trigger-happy as I tended to be, it was still a nice treat to actually get some peace and quiet to get my mind straight and back into shape. Maybe Blake was right after all. Some fresh air always did the trick. But that would leave me thinking about the bad stuff that happened each time before I'd go get a breather.

"Is there something troubling you?" Redbot snapped me out of my little meditation to ask another question. One that I didn't really want to answer right about now.

"Me?" I tried to lie and avoid the subject. I have to admit, though. I was… No, still am a terrible liar. "No! I-I'm… fine! See?"

"Frantic stuttering within your voice suggests otherwise." Redbot had to remind me about my awful fibbing. He could probably see me struggling to come up with any excuse anyway. After some more stuttering made its way out of my mouth, I had to sigh in defeat. I had nothing else to say.

"Okay. Who am I fooling?" I slumped my body down, lying on the rough surface on the rock. I was very hopeless with my inability to get myself out of these situations. I'd just give up, knowing that my attempts to make everyone's worries for me go away would end up in failure.

"Does it have to do with Brody?" And Redbot just had to rub it in some more…

"Yeah…" I got back up, raising my legs up on the rock and hugged my knees while also burying my chin in between them. I was going to be very honest with him about what I thought about that Red Ranger, or whatever they called him. "I don't get it, Redbot. Why can't he just take these fights more seriously? A boy was in trouble and I had to help him. But Mr. Intelligent over there thought it was a good idea for me to forget the boy. Even if he did plan to help the kid, I needed to do something before anything could happen to him." I was even more frustrated now. Just when I thought I could finally put the whole argument to rest, now I had to retell it to the one bot who stood by his side. Redbot had to defend him, trying to reason with me to think about him in a different way.

"Brody is smart and cunning." Redbot said. "If anything, he could have saved that child in the nick of time."

"I know that, but he had to go and berate me for my failure to follow his plan." I defended again. "Why can't he just let me do my own thing? It's like he doesn't get why it's so important to help my fellow people!"

"I understand your anxiety." argued Redbot. "Brody may be stubborn when it comes to monster fights, but he is not without care. He is a born hero, willing to do whatever it took to save lives, just like you. And when it comes to trouble, the monsters like the ones you fought are pure evil, willing to hurt or even destroy others to get what they want. That's why he does get serious in his battles, because he cares about protecting the innocent, no matter where they're from."

I wanted to lash out and fight back, more serious than I had ever been, to show this robot that I could make things right for people and make this world a better place.

But then, it just clicked. I stopped. I had to think about what Redbot said that finally caused me to stop resisting the inevitable. I then rested my chin on top of my hands, whimpering inside for a lost cause to proving myself. Great. First, Ozpin, then the whole school and now some guy from another dimension thought I was such an obstacle. I really wanted to do my best to show everyone that I could do things right again after what happened at Vale. But now, I just didn't know if I'm doing enough to help people. I've let many down. My team, my other friends, my teachers… I just couldn't think of a way to set things right again.

"I've had my fair share of troubles with these monsters, but Brody would always have my back. He's saved me many times before, and I will be sure that he will come to my aid from here on." Redbot's words were really kicking into me. As I managed to stop myself to listen, I was beginning to understand now.

I now realized that I was being such a stubborn little brat. I let myself get so bent on protecting people all by myself that I didn't give him the chance to help out too. I was so advocate on fighting the bad guys and not letting Brody do his part to lend a hand. Now, it was coming to bite me in the back.

"Maybe you're right." I finally conceded. "Maybe I've been a bit… stubborn myself, thinking that I'd make a difference. I've always been so willing to help people… that I've put myself over others. Out of all of this…" Hesitation kept me from saying more, but I had to let it out and accept the truth. "I'm the one wrong here."

And what about my team? I said I wanted to help them get back to helping people, but as it turned out, I was forcing them to help me out with something that only I wanted to do. I know I had good intentions, but I must've been such a jerk to push them off their feet like what I did back at Beacon.

Oh boy. I'm such an idiot. I burrowed my face into my hands as I laid back down groaning in frustration for being so delusional. Surely, Redbot must had wanted to say something rough to me for finally defeating myself.

"You are certainly a brilliant fighter. I'm sure Brody thinks so too." Well, I was wrong again. But those words were helpful. I gotta admit, that bot had some neat talking skills. Now that I got that aching feeling out of my chest, his words of comfort were really touching.

Smiling, I sat back up and giggled, letting my past anger thrown off the plank.

"Thanks." Then, I thought about Brody again. He may had been right to scorn me, but I still had that wanting to make him see me for who I really was, forgetting about the selfish side of me and view me as the hero who still does want to save people. "But still, I wish he could just see me as a capable fighter myself."

"Perhaps in time, you can." advised Redbot. "I advise you listen to him the next time you team up with him. He certainly has many ways to win his battles."

"I'll try." I didn't promise anything, but I would do my absolute best to fix things between us. Take things slowly and actually pay attention. It was going to be hard; I mean, I used to fight against sleep to stay at attention for Professor Port's boring old war tales, so listening to someone who gives a darn about fighting should be a real lesson. So, after that, that was my resolve. If I learned to listen to someone, then I'd do better with my team.

Dear Oum. I wondered how was I going to talk things out with the others while I'm still gracious to hear what they thought about me.

Suddenly, the winds kicked in with a strong blow. It was lovely, as always. I'd let the cool air brush against my hair and let my cape flutter away!

"Ohh!" But that put Redbot in the firing line… from my own red cape. I yelped after hearing the robot getting slapped and covered underneath it. So, I pulled it back and saved the poor guy from being blinded by my prized possession.

"Sorry!" I quickly apologized. After he shook his head, Redbot immediately apologized.

"It is no problem." Then, afterwards, I retreated my cape and to avoid another mishap, I draped it around myself like a blanket so I wouldn't let it blow upon him. Redbot seemed to be curious about something, staring at me for some reason like he found a blemish on my face or something.

"Do you always wear this strange red cloak?" he asked me. Strange, he thought? Come on! Everyone's such a critic!

"Of course!" I just cheerfully answered, hoping to not let my inner thoughts get in the way. Though I felt the urge to tell him why it's such a wonderful thing to have. "I tend to see it as a symbol. Not only for my Semblance…" Then, for a moment, I felt a little empty inside. About what the cape would always make me think of every time. "…but for my mother."

"Your mother?" Redbot questioned.

"She…" I didn't really want to pour too much of my emotions into this, but it was going to be the way to set things straight with these strangers from a world unknown. My mother's tale of heroism and sacrifice was going to be one helpful way to remind them of who I am and who I want to be. "She was a Huntress like me. My dad always told me that she was a great one too. I guess I decided to wear my cape to remind me of her and her contribution to our world. That's… really all I can remember of her."

"What happened to her?" And that was the question I didn't want to hear. No matter what, though, I had to go on and tell him the bad news about the ending to this sad tale.

"She… died a long time ago. When I was still very little." Redbot didn't have a human-like face, but if I could tell from his voice afterwards, he probably didn't feel so good about what I said.

"Oh…" he said apologetically. "I'm… sorry."

"It's alright." I turned to him and kept on with the story. "I never really knew my mum, so I never understood how to handle it. But that didn't stop me from loving her from here on out." I looked back at the sun setting down into the mountains, with the day slowly turning to night. I remembered how I would always return to her grave every time, to tell her of the many adventures and achievements I had earned in my life. Then, I prayed on, knowing that my mother would be up there, seeing me down here proud and happy for me. "I'm sure she would be happy to see me now. Living up to her legacy and continuing the Rose family name!" I unwrapped myself from the cloak and brought the edge of it to my sight, clenching it into my fist gently and lovingly. "This cloak of mine will always remind me of her, even my time with her was short."

"I see." Redbot was touched by the whole story, I'm sure. But now, the problem was that I must had let those feelings out too hard on Brody. Surely, now I regretted it, so I told Redbot what I initially thought about it.

"So, when Brody talked down on me earlier and I talked back, I was thinking about my mother. How would she feel about me if I let some other person tell me that I was doing things the wrong way? I couldn't help but show him that I care too, you know?" I sunk my head down, wanting to go out there and apologize for the harsh things I said back there, but somehow, somewhere deep inside of me, I did what I had to and gave him a dose of my spirit.

"I just wish he'd understand." In the end, all I could hope for was some way for him to fully realize how much this world meant to me and that he'd finally let me work things out with him. I'd wonder if he'd know what it was like to have lost someone precious in your life and that you'd fight to live up to his or her name.

Then, all of a sudden, Redbot told me something. Something that would really shake things up.

"I'm certain he would. In fact, you're not alone." I turned my head and wondered why Redbot would say such a thing. Could it be-?

"What?" I asked, surprised by what Redbot said to me about Brody.

"Brody should know what you went through." he continued.

"What do you mean?" I had to ask him again. Now, I was itching to more about Brody, because there was something in Redbot that made me want to hear everything out. This would be a good chance to fully get the better picture.

"Let me tell you then. I'm positive that Brody would comprehend." And so, I sat at attention like I would with Yang in her bedtime stories… when I was young, of course… and listen to Redbot, hoping that I'd better understand the tale of this hard-headed ninja.

"As a kid, Brody always wanted to be a ninja warrior. And as it so happened, his father was a Ninja Master." Amazing! Brody had a dad who could fight too! I was so amazed to think that Brody wasn't just a ninja warrior. He must had been a prodigy! I rested my head on my fists as I listened eagerly to know more about him. "So, Mr. Dane Romero took it upon himself to teach Brody the ways of the ninja, preserving an ancient tradition that was dying out."

Yeah, ninjas were kinda outdated here in Remnant too, even if someone was so engrossed in a certain romantic 'story' as Weiss would put it.

"Brody loved his father very much. He valued his teachings and he would always be proud by learning from him." I know I would mine. Both Dad and Yang too. I was getting to become even more curious about Brody, and actually… I felt a little more acceptant to him just by listening to the more touching side of him.

"But that all changed in one day. There was this mystical power source called the Ninja Nexus Prism. It held the power that would later give Brody his own powers today." I imagined back to the special ninja powers and the spandex…

 _THAT IS NOT SPANDEX!_ For some reason I heard a very shrilled female voice coming from afar, but I didn't know what it was. Strange…

Anyway, I remembered how powerful and awesome Brody's ninja powers were with that… suit of his. So fast, so elegant, so destructive! These powers must had been so great that it'd make most Huntsmen and Huntresses like me jealous. Still, I had to listen to Redbot more and hoped to tell me more about this weird other world they came from.

"His father kept the Prism in his home, harnessing the power within and forging the steel from the artefact itself for future use. From there, he hoped to learn how to use this power to protect others and allow the spirit of the ninja to live on. He would then train Brody and his brother, Aiden harder than ever to prepare for whatever may try to take the power of the Ninja Power Star." Two ninja brothers. Now that was a family tale that could end in happiness. Right?

Turned out, I was wrong…

"Until he came…" Redbot turned sorrowful, as if there was a very sad twist to this tale. This was it. That typical tragic chapter where things would go down south really badly. I was even more attentive to the tale now, hoping that things would turn out alright, but deep down, I knew there wasn't going to be any good news.

"Galvanax. The big boss. The baddie who ruled them all. He is the one threatening your world today." I didn't know who this Galvanax was, but if those monsters were anything, then he must had been huge and massively strong. Like 'the-end-of-the-world' strong…

"He came to find the Prism and get its power, but Brody's father did his best to protect both the Prism and his son from harm. He even managed to become a Power Ranger through the Prism's power." I held on to hope, as if I was there to watch it, actually rooting for Brody's dad in my imagination, just thinking about him slashing down on the monster with his awesome powers.

"Unfortunately, Galvanax was more powerful in the fight." But then, it was the moment that I was afraid of. "To help save the world, Brody's father had to do what needed to be done. He jumped in and sacrificed himself to destroy the Ninja Power Star. The Power Star was broken apart, preventing Galvanax from achieving the ultimate power." IT was at this point that I wanted to know desperately of what happened in the end. Was Brody's dad okay? What happened?! I was so impatient to hear what had happened, and Redbot straight away told me of the sad fate of Brody's dad.

"Brody's father, however, was nowhere to be found…"

My heart was heavy afterwards. Brody's father did all he could to protect his world from the clutches of the evil Galvanax from achieving this ultimate power. But in the end, after all of the fighting and pain he had suffered, he was no more. Gone.

Just like what happened to my mother…

"Brody took the loss very seriously ever since. Worse still, he was kidnapped after the battle and was forced to separate himself from the only family he had left. His brother, Aiden." I was actually almost driven to tears here. To imagine Brody, as a young kid, taken away from whatever was left of his family; it was more than I could take. It was such a sad story and I really wanted to shed some tears for him, feeling so remorseful for what I said to him earlier.

That was it! I was now an even bigger idiot! I was so angry at him that I shouted out all my care for my mother at his face. And you know what I said?

' _I'm not sure you would understand!'_

Now I knew why he was so mad back at me! I was so foolish to have had said that awful sentence, without knowing that he, too, had lost not one, but two people in his life! I wanted to beat myself up for not thinking straight, being so sure that I was the more tragic figure in this fight. What had I done…?

"From that day forth, Brody was forced to work for Galvanax in his ship for ten whole years. There was when he met me and another friend of ours. But those times were the hardest for him. He had lost the only family he had left and was treated like dirt because of it." It was even more painful to hear what happened afterwards. Ten years away from home to be a slave has got to be the worst thing that would ever happen to a boy like Brody. I was getting more and more upset for him, and myself for being a total douchebag to him.

"We managed to escape the ship after so long and landed back home on Earth, where Brody would meet up with new friends and gain the powers of the Ninja Steel Red Ranger from the Power Star, but no matter where he goes, he is unable to find his long lost brother." The more I heard of this tale, the sadder I got. I was glad he met some people to join them, but there was no sign of Brody's brother anywhere. I couldn't imagine what it was like to lose a sibling like that for so long. If I were to lose Yang for that amount of time, I'd be devastated too, and I would go the extra mile to reunite with her. There's just so much I'm learning about our new friend.

"The events that led up to his time as a Ranger were hard felt and difficult, but with our new friends, we always prevailed and overcame the odds against Galvanax and his forces." "That is why Brody is such a valiant leader. He always knows what to do and he does it all to save the people he knows and loves." In the end, I was moved by how things went for Brody. He never gave up looking for Aiden and worked with his friends to defeat the forces of evil. There was so much I had to understand about Brody that now, after this one tale, I finally knew what he had to go through to fight these aliens and why he would go so far to defeat them. He was a better hero than I thought he'd be.

Still, I was still so sorry for him; as he lost all of the family he knew and loved. His father was gone; his brother was missing. There was not even a mention of a mother.

"Gee, I… didn't know… he lost his family." I sobbed a little. "Let alone one parent like me…"

"Well, we still don't know if Brody's father was ever gone. He just disappeared with no trace left." Well, there was a pinch of hope there, but it must had been tough still. "Still, it was very upsetting for him."

"Yeah…" I crossed my arms to my stomach, still feeling guilty for yelling at him. "Having to go on with life without any family to depend on." I thought about the fact that he had new friends to depend on when he needed company and help. It was still a good thing he had some people in your life. People he could love again. "But that's when you've got friends by your side, and the next thing you know it… **They** become your family."

"That is exactly what Brody would tell me." stated Redbot. I stood back up, feeling even better knowing that there was a chance to make things right between us. All I had to do was be more understanding towards him and let him decide what's right in our battle against these evil gladiators from outer space.

"I guess he and I have something in common after all. We're both leaders looking out for our teams and we fight to protect our worlds." I was going to finally change and listen to him when we head for battle against these monsters. "I should have known."

"It's never too late to learn." assured Redbot. I looked at this red robot and was amazed that he was actually teaching me how to be a better person towards another. Well, it's not impossible since I actually taught a robot about how she lives her life too.

"Wow. For a robot, you sure talk a lot of sense." I praised him.

"It's all thanks to Brody for being such a friend to all of us." said Redbot. Now, I just had another question to ask him about Brody.

"Speaking of which, where are his friends anyw-?"

 **BBOOOMMM!**

"What the?!" It just came out of nowhere! Another explosion somewhere further away! I was sure it was another alien attack!

"It's another attack!" I stood up in a flash and jumped down from the rock to get back into the action before I'd lose my chance again. "Our friend's back!" I had the lamp-like monster in my mind, ready to cut him down to a million pieces!

"We better go warn Brody!" Just then, I heard Redbot jump down too and went to warn his friend. I completely forgot that I had to have Brody by my side if I would have any better chance of defeating these aliens. I already told myself I would try my hardest to listen to him, and I am not going to spoil another chance like this.

On the other hand, if I waited any longer, that monster would be sure to destroy another village and raze it to the ground. More lives would be in danger and, who knows? Someone could actually… lose a life. That was when I had an idea.

"You do that! I'll go on ahead." I told Redbot, going for the option to head out first and attack that monster before he could take down whatever he was destroying. The least I could do was stall the beast while Redbot went to warn Brody of the danger, though I was sure he heard the blast too.

"But…" When Redbot was about to insist, possibly for me to wait for Brody, I quickly declined his chance to speak, hushing him up with a wave of my hand to the side.

"There's no time! I've got this. Just tell Brody to meet me there and help out." If I could hold on for as long as I could, Brody would be there just in time for us to launch an all-out assault on the enemy. Redbot just stood there for a while to figure out his… uh… Processing thing.

"Alright." He finally agreed to let me go off and attack the aliens. With a nod to thank him for understanding, I immediately made way and zoomed out in a flash to buy Brody time to help out.

* * *

 _ **~BRODY'S POV~**_

 _ **A few minutes ago**_

Boy, was I mad…

I could not believe that girl just stood up to me and told me that I wouldn't understand what it's like to live up to a legacy of someone who was no longer in your life. I couldn't keep myself composed for long. I had every bit of anger boiling inside to hear that ungrateful remark from Ruby. To say that I wouldn't know about the loss of a parent, she had no idea at all. I decided to separate myself from her after a while and calm down from the hurt caused by the disobedience Ruby displayed.

I know she had to preserve her mother's legacy to fight the forces of evil, but she was not alone. I too had a dad who sacrificed himself to protect the world I lived in. To protect me… and Aiden. She was not being so devoted now, was she?

It was so aggravating to have someone tell you that you wouldn't understand the loss of a parent that I could just slice a bunch of trees like she did to that one back in the forest. I had to sit down somewhere and relax, getting rid of my anger from my little scuffle with Ruby earlier. My helmet was off to get that fresh air of this weird world of girls wielding weapons of awesome calibre, orbited by a moon fractured by some cataclysm. I had to admit; it was far fresher than the slightly more polluted air back at Summer Cove. Perhaps it did help calm my mind a little, but the pain from our disastrous alliance had really sunk in really good.

I prayed to Dad, wondering if he was saw my quarrel with Ruby. I didn't want him to see me like this, all depressed and upset over one sentence, but if there's one thing I've learnt so far, words tend to hurt more than actions these days. Galvanax's constant threats, Ripcon's annoying taunts, Cosmo's irritating 'hosting' and now Ruby's hurtful words at me.

I wondered what went wrong. I didn't know why Ruby wouldn't listen to me when we were fighting enemies that **I** had fought for almost all my life and then she came in and said that this was her fight. Yeah, I get it! You wanna defend your world, then no problem for me. What really bugged me was that how she refused to take advice from me so we could get the upper hand against them, going instead on her own terms. All because she wanted to rescue… that…

Girl…

That was when I thought…

She… did save a girl anyway… Was that so wrong?

If she wanted to save that girl, then was it right for me to just continue on with the plan and not let her do the rescuing? Couldn't have I just told her that I was going to summon a shadow clone to help out instead? If that was the case…

Then maybe **I** was the one who was stubborn…

It just hit me like a baseball bat to the chest. After all this time of fighting Galvanax's monsters and keeping Ruby in line, I was the one who tried to control the situation. Yes, this was her home; she had the right to fight things her way and she would save lives without anyone telling her otherwise. What had I done?

Why was I so foolish to become the control freak here? And because of me, I probably upset her more than she did me. I was the bossy boots of the job to be blamed for our mess-ups, not her… I grabbed my head from the gruelling headache from realizing what I had done to strain our acquaintanceship. Some hero I turned out to be. If I was this rude and demanding, then what am I really?

I had a lot of explaining to do… My head was spinning from mind-blowing realization, forcing me to rub my forehead. My own heart was stinging from the guilt that I had to sit down and take a breather. Most of all, my own brain was processing a way to bring it up to Ruby over what I said. I hoped Redbot's got her covered; he was always programmed to assist the needy and would sit down with them when he felt like doing so.

Meanwhile, I had to calm down and find a way to relax my mind before I faced the girl again. She pretty much wouldn't want to talk to me anymore, so I really hope Redbot had my back.

 **BOOM!**

Well, things couldn't get any worse, I thought. Once again, a bad day was really testing my patience. That explosion signalled yet another attack by Galvanax's newest goon, surely on another settlement. I had to jump into action and fight them, putting back my helmet on. With my Star Blade in hand, I ran towards the sound of the blast.

I stopped. I looked back to where Ruby had left off from, thinking of whether to call upon her for help. It still looked like she was not willing to talk to me after our argument, not wanting to do anything with me at that point. And I was pretty sure she would have heard that blast anyway. If anything, she'd just jump up and race right for the site of the disaster without me.

"Brody!" All of a sudden, I heard Redbot's voice calling out to me. Shooting back around, I ran to find him, just seeing him already within a few feet away. When I met up with him, he told me what he wanted to say, and what came out of his vocal processor was almost what I wanted to hear.

"I assume you heard the explosion?" he asked.

"Hard not to, Redbot." I told him.

"Well, Ruby has gone off to fight the monster." Redbot announced, confirming my suspicions. I knew she'd run off without me. Was she still mad at me? Now, she had to go on her own because she wasn't going to even call for me? Now I knew how much of an idiot I was. It was totally my fault that she was going to go full solo against Galvanax and his minions, and she didn't even have a clue about how to defeat them. If only I'd given her some room to try… "And she told me to tell you that she'll need the help!"

Suddenly, when Redbot told me she needed my help, my head twisted in confusion. Even after all the fuss I did to her; after she wanted nothing to do with me from our scuffle, she still wanted me to help her? Why would she do so?

Drgh! What was I thinking? If she wanted my help, I'll do it anyway. I can't just leave her to battle the monsters alone. It was time to forget what had happened and be a better teammate now. Right now, she needed me, and I'll need her help too.

"Alright!" I quickly agreed, preparing to go on ahead and find her before it was too late. "I'll go on ahead!" With my powers checked and re-energized, I made a quick dash for the attack, hoping to find Ruby there and help her defeat our mutual enemy.

"Don't worry! I'll catch up!" It was faint, but Redbot's voice was clear enough for me to, however, feel a little worried about leaving him in a forest filled with dangerous predators constantly stalking around. "I hope…" Now, on my way, I was going to give it all I got, not just against the monster, but also for my new teammate.

* * *

 _ **~THIRD PERSON POV~**_

Ruby had left Redbot behind to go warn Brody while she raced off to pursue her target. Her eyes were directly set towards her path, hands firmly gripped on her most trusted weapon ready to slice and dice her prey. With a monster threatening to burn down another village, she certainly hoped to buy herself some time before doing the wise decision for a change.

She held on to faith that her comrade would come to join her so she could find a way to beat this creep faster and before anyone else got hurt or at least lost a home. After a terrible round of disagreements with Brody, it was by time she had to finally accept the truth that she needed his help more than ever.

After darting through the woods with lightning speed and a stream of fluttering rose petals behind her, she dashed all the way until she could finally hear the chaos spreading through the area. She stopped behind a few trees where the danger was happening. She peeked over a tree, listening into the cackles being hurled at by the same monster who almost fried her, recognizing the voice easily.

When she caught the monster in her sights, he was already about to arch his back and prepared to fire another beam of searing light energy towards the trees. It was fortunate that there was no settlement or town in sight. However, this was still an arsenic attack upon the forest, firing his beams at the wildlife… non-Grimm ones… Any sentient life was worth protecting and this monster was threatening it as far as she knew. The headlight-like monster fired another massive beam, devastating another part of the forest to flames, scaring the wildlife. A violent dash of orange filled the serene green of the forest's atmosphere, bringing more harm to anyone nearby.

Ruby had to act fast. The monster was the least of her concerns; now with the animals and possibly nearby humans trembling in fear, attracting nearby Grimm in the area as well. If this kept up, there would be destruction throughout and not even Ruby could stop it. There was no time to lose. All hopes were on Brody to arrive and help her out with the fight, so she would have to be extra wary to buy him some time.

"Hold it!" She jumped from her hiding spot to reveal herself to the enemy. The light-powered monster spun around with his Kudabots to see the young girl standing right before them, with her scythe at the ready. Her eyes stared right at him, glaring in her angered state, triggered by the mass hysteria he was causing.

"Hah!" The bogus actor-wannabe bellowed in her presence. "So you have returned for a new audition, my dear?!" Ruby then spun her scythe around before transforming it into blaster mode, willing to start the fight as soon as possible.

"Yeah!" she cried in full battle mode. "My chance for another **shot** at you." She dashed forward, catching the monsters by surprise. She leapt in the air and fired a few high-powered frag rounds on top of them, easily taking care of the Kudabots all at once with multiple blasts. That just left the big bad monster all to himself. Rotlight jumped around helplessly as he was being pelted by explosive rounds all over him, taking out his troops in a few seconds.

Ruby landed on the ground after her successful barrage had taken out the support, leaving Rotlight all on his own. She knew she had to be careful now. Even without those blue soldiers, these monsters were indeed capable on their own from what she had experienced so far. Rotlight snapped out of his hysteria and faced the Huntress-in-training with anger that he was already deprived of his backup.

"You just took out my star cast!" he cried with fury, something that Ruby didn't really have time to give a darn about. "Fine! If you really want to be in the cut, then allow me to make you shine!" He charged up the energy inside of him and unleashed his super-powered beam of light at the girl. Ruby panicked when she saw the superfast beam racing towards her, instinctively darting away with her Semblance of extreme speed. The violent ray blew up a tree just behind Ruby a second ago, incinerating it to nothing. The fire burnt atop the broken stump with wild and intense heat.

Ruby had to do something about the monster and try and take him out. If she wasn't successful, at least she hoped it was enough to give Brody more time to arrive. So, she had her weapon shifted to scythe mode and charged right for the monster before he could charge up another devastating blast. Engaging in a close-quarter battle, Ruby began to work her way with a series of spins and slashes, rapidly against the monster. Surprisingly, the monster held his ground on his own, defending himself from each strike. He never knew he had this momentum and speed against the speedy Huntress. It must had been the essence of the new world around him, somehow allowing him to boost his power to the max. Indeed, his energy beams had become more powerful than before back in his own universe. Something must had been working and it showed with his new strength against Ruby.

Ruby tried a swing to the leg to try and trip Rotlight down, aiming her blade right at his stubby appendage. Unfortunately, the alien managed to catch the blade with his own bare hand, swiping it off before giving Ruby a good punch to the chest, sending her back reeling from the hit.

She then zoomed right for the monster again, clashing in another series of attacks with equal ground again. Ruby tried to find another angle, trying to leap over him and attack him from behind, but the monster kept swinging backwards to stop her from doing any damage. Ruby then raised Crescent Rose high enough and swung it right down on him, hoping to knock out his light cannon. The monster then caught the deadly weapon with both of his hands, barely missing the sharp edges of the blade.

He pushed the weapon right up in the air, making a panicked Ruby vulnerable to another hit to her face, knocking her back again. While she was recovering from the attack, he quickly charged up a low-powered blast from his weapon, sending a beam of light milder than before, but should be enough to deliver enough hurt to pin Ruby down.

Ruby was hit by the energy beam; the power of the blast searing through her in an instant and with a force that sent her spinning to the ground. It was far worse than the time she had been slashed at by a fiery weapon during one of her sparring sessions at Beacon. The burns were more powerful than the singing stings of that weapon, almost feeling like it was enough to burn her to a crisp.

She crashed down on the ground hard, thankfully still alive, but now damaged and stinging all over. There were burn marks on her clothes and cape; those on the cape obviously far more visible than the ones on her black clothes. The pain she felt forced her down, making her unable to get back up to fight the alien. It really hurt so bad, she'd need a few sick days from school to have her wounds be healed.

From this pain, she now fully understood why Brody specifically told her to be cautious of his enemies. Now, she knew what these monsters were capable. These weren't like the Grimm or Torchwick. They could still kill you, but these aliens were far more violent and volatile. Destructive as the Grimm, but with hearts of cold ice. As vile as Torchwick, but even more powerful and stronger in their power. These monsters were bent on destroying everything in a single blow and willing to see someone suffer from their injuries. And to think, all of this for a stupid game show…

Rotlight sure enjoyed his little debut against a formidable opponent, even as the strange essence in the world he was in somehow empowered him to such speeds. It's no wonder that the contender before him was also feeling the power before he too was unfortunately put down by the Red Ranger. At least he could now finish what he started and put an end to the obstacles of the most precious beginning of his career.

"You should have not underestimated me, little girl!" The monster taunted Ruby who was till badly burnt. She was able to find enough strength to get back up, but only managing to her knees. She looked at the monster with dread as he lightened up his weapon again, now going to full power and willing to incinerate her to nothing more than a pile of ashes, not willing to let the opportunity slip past him this time.

At the peak of his power, he was ready to fire his weapon. Ruby closed her eyes, ignoring the pain on her body and accepting the inevitably of her situation. She held onto hope that somehow, within this heck of a mess, close to her own death, she would be saved by some miracle. It had before, why should now be any different? For now, she had to pray to Oum that if she did meet her end, she was going to hope that everyone she knew would be able to live on without her. Oh, how she wanted to tell Weiss how much she loathed her fancy attempts at making everything so… fancy. How she wanted to learn more about Blake's past. How she wanted to give Zwei one last hug before she dies. How she wanted to tell Yang and her father how much she loved them. How much she wanted…

To see her mother again… Perhaps she shall in the afterlife…

"Say goodbye, girl!" And the monster fired his weapon…

Ruby prayed with her last words. She felt a swift force picking her up to send her to the heavens for her final moments of life. And when she opened her eyes to accept her fate, she could see herself higher than she was. She would find herself…

On top of a tree… What?

"Huh?" She was certain she was now in a better place, but when she opened her eyes, she was beyond surprised when she saw the face of hope in front of her. It wasn't an angel, or any other person of heavenly grace. It was none other than the one person she hoped would come.

"Sorry, I'm late." Yes, it was him. Brody had finally come to save the day, cradling her after rescuing her from her certain doom. Where she stood defeated once was nothing more than a burnt out crater, with an equally baffled Rotlight to feel dumbfounded by his miss. She found herself then being jumped down with him on the ground where he safely placed her on her two feet. She couldn't really have the energy to show her appreciation, with her wounds still being there to sting. All she could do was smile, glad that Brody had come to help her fight the monster.

"Am I glad to see you." thanked Ruby.

"Glad to know." acknowledged Brody.

All those times they fought each other, forgotten. Their past grudges put aside for now. There was a much bigger fight at hand. Either one of them didn't know that the other was willing to cooperate, but it was clear that they had to work together again, now or never. They could always talk it out later and focus on the fight here and now.

"Okay, Brody." Ruby called on to Brody. The Red Ranger expected a little burst of self-confidence from her, letting him know that she would prepare to lead the charge instead of him. "What's the plan? You lead, I'll follow." Brody heard it right. Ruby was actually willing to give him the chance to guide her through this fight. For the first time since a while ago, she wanted him to help her fight. He wasn't sure if she was going to be easy on him after what had happened, but he was sure glad that she was about to follow his lead. Of course, he too had the chance to make things right. This wasn't about him; it was **both** of their fights. Both of their efforts. Both of their mistakes… And since Ruby seemed to wanting to correct her mistakes, it was only fair that Brody correct his.

"That monster's source of power comes from that light of his. We take out the lens, we'll make him vulnerable." he told Ruby. "And that's where I need you to do some damage." He told Ruby exactly what needed to be done, giving her the chance to give her own taste of fun to defeat the monster. And it worked after noticing the dangerous little smile on her face.

"My specialty." Ruby grabbed onto Crescent Rose like a warrior itching for battle. This was the chance for the both of them to fix up their alliance and start fighting like a team against their common foe. They stood battle-ready, about put their skills to the test and find out if their team-up was still alive and growing.

"Hit the lens on my signal." Brody reminded. "Do you get that?" Ruby probably didn't need to be told on what to do. Brody was giving her the opportunity to help save lives, and she was going to do part of the hurting. That was all that mattered.

"Loud and clear!" She spun her weapon in the air and crashed her blade to the ground. Brody unsheathed his blade from his belt and took out one of his Power Stars to use in battle against Rotlight.

"Then, let's make this **epic**!" With Brody's battle cry, the warriors in red were ready to move out and fight against the mutual evil. Rotlight stood his ground as well, making sure that he would melt down both of them in a single light beam. As such, he sucked up enough energy from the Sun and was about to let one beam rip at them.

"Move out!" Ruby yelled as they both jumped out of the way before Rotlight fired his deadly laser at the two. They both managed to dash away on time before the beam hit them, exploding in another fiery blast. The two heroes zig0zagged their way towards the monster with incredible speeds, confusing the monster as to who and where she should shoot at first. In his desperation, the monster fired a few rushed shots at them both, resulting in complete misses as they sped through the attacks.

Finally, after dodging his moves, the Red Ranger began to attack first, lunging his blade from the air and preparing to strike at the monster through the lens. The monster made his move to stop him from hitting him, brushing off the attack and tossing the Ranger aside. While he was able to throw away one warrior, he was not prepared for the second warrior just inches away from his legs. It was Ruby who dealt the blow to his legs, slashing them with her weapon.

The monster was felled with that one blow, all while Brody was still recovering from his tumble. Ruby darted away just in time before the monster fell to the ground after her successful strike.

When the two allies regrouped, they faced the monster to see the results of their coordinated teamwork. The monster was down, but not out. They still had a little more to go if they were going to hit its lens.

"Okay, we managed to weaken him, but we better improve our odds. Perhaps a little more would do." suggested Bordy, which was all Ruby needed to hear.

"Sounds good! You keep him distracted and I'll see if I can score one for us." The Huntress offered her own take on the plan, which earned a nod of approval from Brody. Clearly, the teamwork was slowly coming together nicely as the two prepared another round of assaults on the creature.

"You fools will pay for this box office disaster!" yelled Rotlight.

"Don't worry." taunted Brody. "You won't be around for the sequel!" He thrust out his Power Star and called upon its power. "Ninja Clone Star! Ninja Spin!" Locking it in place onto his blade, he gave a spin with the full flick of his thumb and allowed it to summon two copies of himself; all moving at their own will but to follow the host's command. "Meet my stunt doubles."

With the swing of his blade, Brody charged forward and led his clones to action. All of them attacked as different individual minds launching their moves at different paces and patterns to confuse the monster into fighting all three at the same time. It was a total mess fighting off three Red Rangers at the same time, and Rotlight wasn't sure which one was the real one, forcing him to take on all of them.

While Brody and his clones got him distracted, Ruby jumped through the trees trying to get an angle on Rotlight's lens. She didn't know how Brody was going to hold him steady; all she had to concentrate on was Rotlight himself. If he was stationary enough, she would have that chance. Then, at that moment, Brody managed to keep the monster in a tight lock, trapping all of his limbs in place.

"Now!" the Ranger yelled, signalling for her to strike, jumping out of the trees and aiming her gun at the monster's lens as planned.

"Gotcha!" In the air, she locked on to the very glass at the barrel of his weapon, about ready to pull the trigger. However, in that instance, the monster had struggled well enough to shake off one of the clones, knocking him out of existence as it exploded in a cloud of dust. Ruby fired the weapon too late, the bullet then racing for the monster and ending up hitting his eye instead of the lens.

"ARGH! What just hit me?!" The monster reeled in pain, and in doing so, charged up his firepower in desperation. He fired a haphazard low-charged blast that was, by the worst luck possible, heading for Ruby.

"Look out!" Brody couldn't do anything but helplessly warn his comrade of the beam. The beam fired right up and hit Ruby by the foot, burning it and causing some massive pain. Ruby winced as she crashed to the ground hard.

Brody ordered the other remaining clone to keep Rotlight distracted while he ran to help Ruby up. As he reached her, he could see the damage done. A smoking trail left on her boot as she clutched her foot, almost in bad shape after the additional pain from the fall.

She massaged the burn as hard as she could, fortunately feeling nothing more than a little sting. Thankfully, her boots were made to withstand powerful attacks like that and all she had to do was rub the pained areas of the rest of her body from the crash landing.

"You okay?" Brody came by and placed a hand on her shoulder, and then helping her up with a helping hand.

"Just a singe." assured Ruby, though feeling a little bit let down by her failed attack. "Sorry, I messed up." Brody felt the disappointment in her. This time, however, he wasn't going to chastise her for her failure. This wasn't the time, or rather wasn't his thing to berate her for not scoring a direct hit. He was going to give her the credit for trying her best, and that was what he should have been doing the whole time. No more criticisms. Ruby was a compatible fighter and no one was going to ruin her incredible streak for anything.

"Don't worry. You almost had him." praised Brody. For a while, Ruby almost anticipated a little harsh remark, keeping her on bad expectations. When she heard a compliment from Brody, however, she couldn't help but smile at last, thankful that Brody was there to compliment her.

The two returned to the fight. They saw that Rotlight had managed to wipe off the last clone before turning his attention back to the real deals. "We're going to have to **really** put the hurt on him."

At that point, Ruby looked for a solution. She had to find a better way to make the monster stay still and for much longer this time. When she scanned the monster, she studied how he was moving after she shot him. She could make out a bit of a stumble in his walking, seemingly disorientated by what happened to his eye. She then recollected what happened when he fired his weapon after being partially blinded. He was quite precise before with his shots, but it seemed like his lack of vision had greatly affected his aim.

Perhaps he could still see a small shade of her from his blurred vision. If she could find a way to blind him completely…

"Since he can't shoot what he can't see, maybe we can blind him with something." she deduced. She then looked to Brody, hoping he had something he could use to make the plan work. As much as he liked the idea, he regretfully informed Ruby that he had nothing of the sort to perform.

"I don't have anything to do that." That was when Ruby brushed through the magazines on her belt, checking them out one by one before eventually coming across something most fortunate, as much as she wanted to say it was all according to plan.

"I do." She then kept the rest of her ammo away, leaving one conspicuous magazine left. Brody looked at the clip and saw that it was white instead of the traditional red he usually spotted in Crescent Rose. Ruby locked it in place before cocking up the weapon, ready to fire. "Get ready to charge up whatever attack you have. I'm going to give 'em something."

Brody didn't know what she had in mind, but he decided to give it a shot anyway. Ruby may had been stubborn and reckless, but she was as skilled as they came. So far, she had proven capable when listening, so it was now his turn to respect her idea. One nod was needed to confirm his approval to proceed. Seeing if Ruby could do the job, Brody leapt away into the trees, waiting for the chance to attack.

"What is this?!" Rotlight yelled, seeing Brody's rush away as a sign of cowardice. "Not enjoying the bright lights of show biz! Someone is clearly not into the stardom!"

"Hey!" He then shot back to the young girl left on the field, who stood defiantly while the Red Ranger ran for his life. "Want some more stardom? Here's some coming at you!" Ruby then aimed Crescent Rose at the monster, loaded with the new mag in her weapon. After a pull of the trigger, a bullet was launched and headed right for Rotlight.

However, instead of an armour-piercing round that would penetrate right through him with extreme pain, Rotlight was caught within what appeared to be a sudden blanket of an intensely bright light upon his eyes, blinding him almost completely.

"AAHHH! It stings! My eyes!" The monster backed off with nauseating pain going across his mind while also being unable to see. He tried to shake off the effect to no avail; he was going to become blind for a long while. Long enough for Brody to make his move…

"Lights out!" From out of nowhere, the Red Ranger sprinted from out of the trees and he flew right above the monster with his Star Blade ready to slice at him with a direct hit to the lens. He could see the brilliant flash coming from the branches and quickly shielded himself from the blast, allowing him to see clearly where his blinded target was.

With a sharp dive-bomb, he lunged his sword downwards like a harpoon towards an unlucky fish in the sea. The blade speared through the lens, shattering the glass and digging right into the inner electronics that made the weapon work. Rotlight screamed as the blade pierced right through him, blowing up the circuits inside of him. The sudden shock was felt all the worse when he couldn't even see the attack coming and the pain was made from a total ambush to his body.

Brody skipped away from the blow and regrouped with Ruby, seeing the damage he had done. A successful hit as the glass of the weapon was broken down into nothing more than a few shards. Jolts of electricity fizzed out of the barrel, showing that his attack had done much more to Rotlight. It was all enough to prove that their attack had worked.

"No!" Rotlight screamed, having his vision restored to see what had happened to his masterpiece. "You destroyed my most prized asset!" As the monster moaned in defeat, Brody took out his own signature Power Star to prepare for his final attack.

"Great." After placing the Star, he looked at Ruby and called upon her for the next phase. "Now, let's finish him up. Together."

"Aren't you powerful enough to finish the job on your own?" asked Ruby.

"Hey. I can't have **all** the fun, can I?" assured Brody, giving Ruby more of the exciting feels. If there was anything Ruby would enjoy from a hunt, it was the satisfaction of ending the battle. So, to make the final move with an ally was just as special. "Just follow my lead." Brody and Ruby made their stances, crouching forward and waited on Brody's go.

" **Ninja Spin!** " The flick of the wrist and the cycling of the Power Star at rapid speed, Brody unleashed his full fury with his red energy blazing across the blade in a show of power Ruby wished she would put for Crescent Rose. Perhaps some modifications could be done… Right now, it was time to synchronize their attacks; no time to drool over awesome visuals!

" **Final Attack!** " At the sound of his call, Ruby followed Brody in a simultaneous charge. The two zapped their way towards a doomed Rotlight, who was powerless to stop them from being close to ending his life.

In a surprising show of force, Brody and Ruby's bodies became blurs in a blitzing trail of roses and electricity that soon combined into a twister with the two of them spinning around each other in a tornado of red mist firing away and speeding towards Rotlight. Finally, the two forces crashed right into the monster with full force enough to drive right into him in a second.

The power was just too strong for Rotlight to take and it ended up blowing him up inside of him. When they finished up their final assault, they skidded away from behind Rotlight and landed right at the same time; a successful team effort that ended with almost perfect harmony.

"'Tis the end of Rotlight?!" The monster began exploding all over, about ready to finally explode and conclude his terrible career to stardom. "Going out like this with a box office bomb?! ARRGHH!" At last, after a chaotic reign of terror, Rotlight fell to the ground dramatically and blew up into a fireball, ending his life for good.

The two heroes watched the fireworks, but while Ruby shielded herself from the bright explosion, Brody naturally turned around and thrust his sword in the air with a victory pose.

"Show's over! Good guys, win!" gloated the Ranger, adding another monster to his tally of wins. And just like that, it was all over. Ruby couldn't believe what had happened. They had finally won… as a team. It was probably the most exciting thing that has ever happened to her since the Breach. She was now fully filled with high spirits as she leapt in the air right as the fireball died down to a few small flames.

Brody too felt the thrill of a hard-earned win, with a teammate he finally trusted to help him win the fight. He just stood and watched the younger girl cheer so jubilantly, though he kinda felt like jumping for joy himself.

"WOOHOO!" Ruby cheered with enthusiasm. "That was awesome! The synchronization, the strategy. that final move! I mean, the way we managed to join our awesome powers together! We sure make a great team after all!" Her girly screams sounded off as very cute in a wild way, reminding Brody of the whole team whenever they cheered for victory too. To think that a girl her age had all of this energy and even had enough to jump for joy after a rough fight.

"We sure did." complimented Brody, accepting the results he had been given for being more tolerant and fair to Ruby's own contributions. Perhaps he had lost his touch before when he thought she was not being a conscious fighter, but right now, he really felt like he was back in a team again…

* * *

A few minutes had already gone by since their victory against Rotlight. Ruby and Brody were now resting atop a boulder near the explosion that ended their enemy's career. Ruby was sitting at the very top while Brody, finally out of his suit and in his normal clothes, just leaned at the base. Redbot had caught up to the two of them, barely able to see what had transpired. One thing he was sure glad to see was how the battle ended, with two of the warriors able to work together to win the fight.

The two were really happy things worked out in the end, but there was a little more than joy in their win that was felt. Now, it was time to properly settle things straight. There was still the difficult series of arguments that nearly tore them apart in their moments of battling evil. Both sides were able to fight together as a team, but now there had to be screws to be tightened to strengthen their new friendship.

Ruby dusted her boots against the rock, still unsure of what to say to Brody other than the cliché form of apologies. She really wanted to say something much better for Brody since she had hurt him for saying that he wouldn't understand about living up to a loved one's legacy. But what else was there to say? Did she really need to play around with fancy words to help make her apology great? No, she had to make it plain, simple and clear. She needed to be sincere with it, saying it with heartfelt passion.

"Hey, uh…" She called Brody, who she didn't realize was also being awkward about what to say back. "I just wanna say…" She brushed the side of her arm, still trying to relax herself from her guilt. "I'm sorry about what I said to you back there. I didn't know you… lost your parent too and I really regret saying the stuff I did."

Brody felt her apology hit right into his heart. It had to happen soon, he supposed, but when he found out that she knew of what happened to him as a child, it immediately sent shivers in his bones for mentioning those horrid events. Then again, Ruby was there to help him feel better from his victory and getting some closure out of his chest was all he needed to make him become more acquainted with his new friend.

"Redbot told you, huh?" he asked. Ruby nodded hesitantly.

"Yeah."

"It's fine." Brody didn't want Ruby to feel bad about knowing the truth without him knowing because he knew Redbot would clear things up for him. He was the kind of friend Brody would feel very grateful for in a long time, and thanks to him, he could finally reconcile with Ruby. "But I should be sorry too. I guess I was being too forceful and I didn't take you seriously. I should let you do more of the punching when the going gets tough." He chuckled with a bit of sorrow for upsetting Ruby too. So much for trying to lightening up the mood.

Then, Ruby jumped right down in front of him, shooting a finger right in front of his nose with a strict face.

"First of all, I **slice**! Not punch." she huffed. "And second… As much as I want to protect my family and friends, and everyone else in this planet, I'll promise to listen to you to fight with these aliens." Brody grinned, glad that they were both learning to accept one another.

"And you'll get the fair share of the action." he added.

"Friends?" Ruby extended a hand to seal the new bond between them, letting their differences be put aside and only partnership to come and help them face the dangers that now threaten the world of Remnant. Brody didn't need to think about it. He was just elated that Ruby was willing to work with him not just as a teammate… but as a friend.

"Friends." He slapped his hand with hers, shaking it and forming the friendship between two worlds. Redbot soon joined and placed a hand on top of the two of theirs, showing his support for Ruby and her fight to save the world.

When they parted, it was the beginning of a swell friendship. One that exploded as soon as it was settled…

"So, what's it like to be a Power Ranger?! Do you have snazzier weapons with you?! Do you have like some super-secret hideout or something?! Do you…?!" Ruby soon blew up in a frenzy of questions that caught Brody and Redbot by surprise. They were so not prepared for the overloading of curiosity sparking around like fireworks being shot at them with rapid pace.

"Whoa! Ruby!" Brody quickly stopped her before she'd go nuts, holding her by the shoulders and telling her to halt her questions. "Let's not get too hasty. I can't get those questions out of the way **that** quickly."

"Sorry." Ruby rubbed her head apologetically. "But I have just one important question. Where are the rest of your friends? You know, your teammates."

"If I have to tell you, then I would have to tell you the whole story." joked Brody, even if he wanted to tell Ruby the tale of his Ranger days. "It's going to be a long one."

"Tell away, Brody." Ruby gave Brody a thumbs up, willing to hear it, all the way. "I love listening to hero stories!" The Ranger grinned, happy that she would give her undivided attention to him.

"It all started, long ago…"

* * *

"Professor Ozpin!" There had been an alert back at the very top of Beacon Academy. Atop the tallest spire, a blond-haired woman in a white uniform marched right in to inform the headmaster of Beacon to tell him of a major disturbance just happening down below. "We're getting reports of multiple attacks just outside…!" The panicked alarms from the woman with spectacles echoed through the room with much concern. However, all of that was being put on hold when a finger was raised from behind the large office chair with the person sitting on it overlooking through the circular glass window.

"I know." With the sip of his cup of coffee, the man with grey hair spoke with the calmest voice in the room. "Forever Fall is coming under fire." Professor Ozpin's reaction to the crisis was not what the assistant Professor had in mind, causing much more bafflement. As if the Breach a few months back weren't bad enough; now there was a resurgence in violent activities being conducted at the forest.

"Then, let's not just stand around! We have to…!" She tried to speak loudly out of reason, but once again, she was silenced by the gentle demeanour of Professor Ozpin as he now raised a palm to at least show more authority over her alarmed presence.

"Glynda. Please be patient." He brought himself up to his feet and continued to view the scene; the otherwise quiet land over the horizon with very little sign of trouble. Perhaps that was why he wasn't so concerned over the growing chaos. "I'm sure things are going to turn out just fine."

"How are you so sure?" Glynda Goodwitch crossed her arms and asked with inquisition. It wasn't long until Ozpin turned around to meet her face-to-face. He walked towards her with his one arm behind his back and the other grasping his cup of the hot beverage. He adjusted his shades properly to show her that he was right with his judgement.

"Because…" he spoke with a little bit more seriousness. "Team RWBY is out there right now, operating as they were meant to."

"I was told they were being temporarily suspended from active duty until further notice. Under **your** orders." reminded Glynda.

"Indeed." Ozpin said before he took another sip of his coffee. "But it appears to be a common occurrence around here these days. And no matter how bad things got, they still managed to hold off on their own. With or without my restrictions." Glynda groaned with dissatisfaction, not content that Ozpin was taking the situation seriously with his students. If she had any reason to believe that the four girls were being held back for the time being, it was for their knack for getting into trouble, and that stemmed from Ozpin's own insistence on letting go on a mission beyond their level. If they were out there right now, then there was going to have to be some reinforcing of the rules that she hoped not even Ozpin could bend.

"I swear, Ozpin. You're being too easy on them." she huffed unapprovingly.

"Easy is hardly the word I would use, Glynda." responded Ozpin. "For now, we shall wait. I wish to see how the cards will play for this new crisis in our hands. Especially since even I can't even pick out what could it be that is threatening our very world now."

"Are you suspecting that these attacks are out of the ordinary? As if the Grimm are not being responsible for these attacks?" Glynda raised an eyebrow, clearly not getting what Ozpin was pointing his suspicions at.

And now, this was when Ozpin had to turn his grin upside-down. It had become clear that the old man was very well aware of how dangerous this unknown threat may be, and if nothing was done to defuse the crisis, then Remnant was in for a world of chaos that he would never have imagined.

"If the Grimm were responsible, then I would have felt the intensity of the village people to be far worse than it already is since the Breach." "This is the work of something, or someone, more violent." He scratched his chin gently, trying hard to anticipate how dastardly the upcoming threat was going to be. His hopes were on his students to react to the situation, especially for the very team he had specifically told to stay put until further notice. For all he knew, they were going to become involved sooner or later, anyway. "I'm afraid even I am not sure on what is it that we are about to face." Yet, somehow, he had the feeling something else had followed the new evil. For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. So if there was a new evil, then there had to be a new ally to call upon. He had to hold onto hope that that ally should arrive to help him and his world. "But maybe some others do."

"Who?" asked Glynda, almost dying to find out. Ozpin remained silent, still not having a firm answer to her question. There was only hope that laid within him. Hope that out of this new threat, there would be a new saving grace to help him.

"We shall see, Glynda. We shall see very soon."

 **TO BE CONTINUED…**


	8. Snowing with a Chance of Magic

**At last, another chapter is ready! This time, let us switch scenes and follow another duo of characters as the story progresses!**

 **Reviews**

 **DB-19**

 **Thanks again for the feedback! That's pretty much why I chose Ninja Steel as the season to be paired with RWBY, because the lead characters, Brody and Ruby, both shared some of those traits. Other than that, I also wanted to see how the other characters could interact with one another and how they can develop over the course of the story.**

 **Also, thanks to FeartheKnown and Ana9Liz9 for liking the story too! Hope everyone will enjoy the next chapter! So, let us not sit around reading the author notes and start the story already!**

* * *

 **Chapter 7: Snowing with a Chance of Magic**

 _ **~WEISS' POV~**_

If Ruby was a pest normally, then she'd be a total wreck at the worst times. And right now, I didn't need to hear her haphazard attempt to bring back our supposedly lost glory. We were fine as we were. Headmaster Ozpin had put us back in our dorm and to remain out of action for a good reason. As noble as our intentions were during our mission at Mountain Glenn, there was much fixing to do after the Breach; an event that was most definitely due to our mistakes and poor timing. We may have succeeded in stopping Torchwick, removed the White Fang from their hideout and defeated the Grimm before they could do more harm, but the extensive damage done to the people's fears had solidified the fact that our mission had brought more failure than success.

The idea that we could be vulnerable at any time and due to our mishandling of our missions completely showed how much more we had to learn and Professor Ozpin had given us good word to be more cautious next time. For now, we remain suspended from missions until then.

But then, Ruby had to go and play the ever impulsive leader role again and went out on her own; an ironic act of selfishness. Blake was out studying about what kind of monsters that thing we faced in the forest was. And Yang… she was out doing the things she would do. I, on the other hand, was walking about in the city trying to clear my head over the whole messy situation between us.

One thing was clear, though, and I had to admit it, Ruby was right about those creatures. Just what were they? They were like nothing we had ever read, seen or even heard of. I certainly don't recall any of these abominations from Klein's stories he told me when I was little. Not even Winter's own tales of her hunting trips had ever described her quarries or encounters as of the sort I've seen in the forest.

Perhaps the others were right; if we have to face that thing again, then we'll have to prepare. Unfortunately, we also have our orders to stay put and wait until Beacon was ready to allow us out for action again. I'm sure we'll get our chance… after our semester break. Thank Oum we were not disqualified from the Vytal Tournament or anything. I'd be so pis- Ahem, _disappointed_ … if we were kicked out because of what we failed to do.

The walk at the city was such so quiet. There's nothing much to do and people were just cruising by without noticing me. That was what I really needed; some peace and quiet without people looking at me saying that I was one of the Huntresses who failed to stop the Breach from happening. Thankfully, no one had ever criticized us for such a shoddy performance. I do, however, have that fear inside that made me wonder if people were indeed thinking of us as failures.

I really didn't want to blame my team after all that had happened, even Ruby. Everyone worked so hard and we managed to prevent a large-scale disaster. I didn't want to let ourselves be put down because of the incident. I just wish Ruby would slow down for a brief moment. Not everything has to be all heroics and those other childish fantasies. This is the real world. You either follow orders or be punished for disrespecting them.

Anyway, back to my walk, I was just enjoying a good amount of time from the argument we had. A good walk was all I needed to clear things out of my head after all. I then decided to head off somewhere to finish off my break time; somewhere nice with the view to enjoy. The grand balcony at the east side of the city would be just swell. I could grab a nice cup of tea and stare right into the serene seas of Vale this time of year.

Then, just when I was about to pass the still closed down bookstore, I just laid my eyes on a very peculiar scene. It was right outside one of the motels just a few blocks away from said store. From the steps leading up to the building, I saw a man being thrown off the door by the receptionist, stumbling down like some comedic act. He must had been one unlucky idiot who just didn't have the right amount of lien to spend the night.

It was strange, though. He seemed like the guy who would spend days and nights in that motel. His attire seemed to fit the money; dark blue jacket with a light blue shirt, clean cargo pants and a pair of red sneakers. One would think he would have enough money to keep those clothes in that condition. However, there was one bit of the clothing that really ridiculed the look. It fell off of him, but it appeared to be a top hat, like something magicians wore for those cheap magic shows.

"I'm sorry!" The man quickly picked up his top hat and placed it right into his jacket. "C-could you just let me stay for a while?" The door slammed, rejecting that man's pleas. Now, I've seen this kind of situation before and it totally made me feel like pitying him very much. Yes, this man was officially broke. Did he like steal those clothes or something?

At that moment, I turned around, hoping to avoid an encounter of the penniless loser, and hoped to cross the road as fast as I could away from him. Then, all of a sudden, timing was just not on my side. A bus came cruising right by, losing much valued time over my little escape.

"Oh man…" Then, I heard the man walking over after his failed attempt to book into the motel. For some reason, I did not see him, too focused on losing him. And apparently, with the dumbest luck ever, he didn't seem to see me…

"Aaah!"

"Owh!" I fell to the side, barely missing the asphalt on the road after being bumped onto the ground. I landed my hand on the ground in a desperate attempt to soften my fall. I ended up with a sore hand from slapping the sidewalk and my left knee was bumped into the same stone floor.

After groaning in pain, I sharply turned my head to see the clumsy klutz who crashed to me. As I expected, it was that same broke guy who bumped into me, still standing up and looking down at me with a grief-stricken face.

"I'm so sorry!" he gasped. "H-here! Let me help you!" I was so livid by how idiotic he was to crash into me like that. Couldn't he just look before he walked? Like, what was so hard to even look out? I would have wanted to scream at him with all of my heart. However, I couldn't simply lose my temper so easily. I'm a Schnee; we show grace and posture at all times, even when things don't go our way.

The guy tried to pick me up, extending his hand at me. I, on the other hand, didn't want to be helped by some clumsy boy. I just brushed his hand off, getting back up by my own hands.

"Ugh! I don't need your help!" I told him off. The guy grabbed the hand that I slapped off, seemingly offended by my sense of ethics.

"Okay, fine!" said the man. "Don't need to be so humble about it." I was so unimpressed by his rude demeanour that I decided to just leave him be. At least he had the decency to forget about our little encounter.

"Hmph!" With a huff and my head turned up high and proud, I walked off across the road, leaving him behind to who knew what he'd do to make his day. I sure hope someone would take him in and give him a life. No, seriously, I really **did** hope for him to just get a job or something. It's almost pitiful to see a man without his money…

* * *

 _ **~PRESTON'S POV~**_

"Sheesh, what an ice queen." That was all I could say after I had the unfortunate incident with a very rude rich-looking girl. I'm sure she was rich, considering the beautiful, sparkling white dress she was wearing, not to mention the stereotypical snobby attitude. Well, that didn't matter, I had a bigger problem right now.

After Brody sent me to find leads of Galvanax's schemes in this big city at some unknown dimension, I've been left with very little to work with. Apparently, the people in this world didn't take US dollars for money, saying it's either counterfeit or just play money from a game board. No matter where I went, I've been kicked out from every shop and stall, one by one with nothing to eat but the snacks I packed, and nowhere to rest at. At least they didn't call the cops or anything; I'd wonder what kind of punishments they would do to me in places like this.

Either way, I was now left with nowhere else to go. I really hoped the others had better luck than me. This whole world was downright confusing, and without anyone I know who could help, I was left out of options.

"I'm gonna need some money to refill my stomach." I thought to myself. Aside from the sandwiches I had packed, I needed something a little more edible. "What did they call it again? _Lien_?" That was the currency I had to have if I wanted to buy anything in this world. I'd take a job, but then I'd be losing myself from the mission, wouldn't I?

"Hmmm…" I had to think of a way to get some money, and fast. If I needed to progress through with the mission, I had to fit in and become one with the crowd. I couldn't afford to get kicked out of every single store or hotel in this city, or I'd be catching a lot of attention around here. Questions would be asked and I would probably make people think I'm crazy. "What can I do to earn some lien around here?"

There just had to be a way to get some money around here. I would need a miracle. A **magical** one…

Wait. Magical?

"Presto! I got it!" I snapped my fingers, now getting the idea I needed to earn some cash. It was time for this strange world to be introduced to the powerful wonder that was the great Preston the Magnificent! No Ranger power, of course. Just a bit of my own unique talent.

* * *

 _ **~THIRD PERSON POV~**_

Weiss had honestly worse days than this. Days when she would meet someone in a bad alley and try to mess with her. All of those hooligans would either be cast off by her own royal guards or be swiped away by her own hands. The heiress could not take another day of meeting such obnoxious or ignorant losers and just went on with her walk of refreshing herself, all while hoping that she wouldn't meet someone else to interrupt her time of peace and quiet.

Fifteen minutes after her accidental encounter with the man outside the motel, Weiss wanted nothing more than the free space and time to release the stresses of her recent debacle with her team leader; perhaps grab a cup of tea to soothe her mind before returning to Beacon with a little more positive stance against Ruby if she would ever return from her delusional quest to solve this problem with the monsters she had never seen before.

She was heading over to that grand balcony overlooking the sea where she could stare into nothing while taking a breather before she would come back to the reality of the situation. When she went to the location, she could see the tables empty and the entire floor devoid of anyone; the perfect opportunity to get that peace and quiet she deserved. No interruptions, no distractions. Just her and a nice moment to herself.

That was when she was going to be so wrong…

"Step right up!" A loud, jolly cry was heard from across the street, giving Weiss some degree of curiosity and a bit of disgust for having her peace possibly interrupted again. When she turned her head, she could see that it came from someone she definitely didn't want to see.

Out there, across the side of the road she was on, she spotted that man again; the same guy she bumped into earlier. Only now, he was pulling in a crowd of spectators, wearing a strange cloak over a tuxedo with a top hat on his head and holding a black stick on his right hand.

"Everyone, please come forth to witness the trick of a lifetime!" The man was none other than Preston, who decided that the only way to get some cash around here was to do the less-than-economic method to earn. Doing what he did best; just put on a little magic show, of course! "Feast your eyes on the spectacular! The magnificent!"

Weiss wasn't really impressed. She just watched from afar to see what kind of nonsense the man was about to do next. She felt that everyone was wasting their time watching this guy being so desperate to earn a few liens just to get into that motel, watching him wave the wand in his hand and flick his cape with his hand.

"The one…! The only…! Presto Change-O!" The crowd decided to give a somewhat intrigued clap, allowing Preston to try and amuse them. The young man remained hopeful, having had experienced such a decent crowd applauding to him with low expectations. There were of course, little children among the spectators who were a little more than enthusiastic for a bit of entertainment.

"For my first trick, I shall play a little game with these fancy cards!" And that was how Preston started the show, taking out a deck of cards from his sleeves and showed it to the crowd. He began to shuffle them up like a pro, shifting through them and arranging them into the order of his choice. Weiss, on the other hand, scoffed, clearly thinking this was an amateur trick. Maybe make the cards disappear or predict the one they would choose out of the deck. Either way, she hoped something interesting could happen from this boring old trick. Preston bent over to face a little girl, who was probably the most excited among everyone.

"Pick a card, little girl!" After showing the cards the back sides facing her, the young girl selected one of them. She then held it in her hand as Preston attempted to confirm the exact pattern on that very card. "And now! I, Presto Change-O, shall predict the card that you have chosen!" Waving his hands as if trying to produce some magical effect from his fingers, he prepared to deliver the word to say what was taken from the deck.

"You have… an Ace of Spades!" The girl looked at the card feeling excited. But then, once she took a look, her smile disappeared. She flipped the card around to show that Preston had given her a Four of Hearts. Now that was humiliating… Preston felt a little flabbergasted that his trick didn't work, and he was starting to disappoint the people around him. Especially one heiress who couldn't help but shake her head at his displeasure, as if saying 'I told you so'.

"Okay…" Preston awkwardly scratched his head, realizing the losing support from the crowd. "Not really my forte there." But there was no room for giving up; the show must go on!

"Moving on to my next trick!" He began again with a little more optimism against an unamused audience. He pinched the rim of his sleeves, pulling them out to reveal clear spaces inside. "Nothing up my sleeve!" He also pulled the ends of his gloves with the same flow. "Nothing in my gloves!" Lastly, he took off his hat and flashed the inside of its hollow inside to the audience, revealing nothing again. "And definitely nothing in the hat, either!" He picked up his wand and began to wiggle it around the rim of his hat, preparing yet another cliché act that still made the children watch, even as a few of the adults had already left from the loss of interest.

"Abrakadabra! Presto Change-O!" He smacked the hat and prepared to pull out another one of his white rabbits from out of it. He dug his hand into it and searched for anything solid, expecting a soft, fluffy back to be grasped gently and to reveal a cute little bunny from out of his hat.

Unfortunately, after some seconds, he could feel nothing, moving his hand frantically around to find the rabbit he assured he would find. Preston kept sweeping around the inside of his hat, praying that his bunny would appear. He even took a good look inside to find that there was nothing inside; not even a single hair. He looked at the crowd and saw the increasingly fed-up looks on their faces.

"Uhhh…" Awkwardly shrugging his shoulders, he cursed at himself deep in his mind. The humiliation he was going through was making him feel extra stupid. It felt even worse to know that his bunnies would **always** come out, even during the most inconvenient of times. They'd be the only things Preston could ever pull out; nothing else but them. The white bunnies he had managed to overfill his room with at one time, not bothered to show up even once.

With his failure to impress, the crowd started to disperse entirely, leaving Preston at a loss for both a chance to earn money and impress the people of this world. Meanwhile, Weiss was watching with pity, shaking her head at the boy's unimpressive attempt to wow everyone while also having some joy in seeing him tremble. Preston had to do something to pull in the crowd before he ended up completely destroyed by failure. Forget the money; this was his reputation at stake, even as unknown as he was to everyone.

There was only one thing left to do…

"Wait! Wait!" he hurriedly called everyone. Everyone turned back in disgust, not sure if to give the man another shot or just leave. Seriously, does he have anything better to do around here? Apparently, they were not far from the truth, but Preston was going to give them a show that the people of this world could truly be amazed by! "There's only one last trick that will **definitely** work!" The crowd reluctantly gave Preston one last chance to prove himself, while Weiss just sat there, expecting another flop in his act.

Preston stood straight. He had to make this work perfectly if he was to pull it off. This was the only chance he had for getting his cash to sustain himself in this place. He took a deep breath, calming himself down from the nerve-wrecking stillness of the audience and not affording to fail this time. He had to rely on his only asset in emergency situations like this.

Preston reached within his pocket and clutched for the tool he would use to improve his magical powers. His Blue Ninja Power Star. He tightened his grip on the metallic star and allowed the power inside of it to course through his body, fuelling the fire to perform his grand surprise. After powering himself up, Preston took out his hand, revealing nothing to everyone. Since he was in a new world, no one would ever guess if he was ever using any power enhancement. Although, he didn't really find it wrong to do it; it was technically an extraordinary power that could help him unleash powers beyond anyone's imagination. So, it would indeed be magical to the common folk. Also, this was something to earn money, not just win over the masses like that one time he tried with the school that ended up in disaster.

"I summon the power of my inner self!" He twirled his hands around each other as if forming a ball of energy. Then, while he breathed in to channel all that power, he swung his hand up with all his might. "I unleash the power of Dragon Fire!"

All of a sudden, Preston could feel the explosive energy burning up inside of him, which he then flashed into blue flames around his whole body before unleashing a fearsome, fire-breathing dragon in an astral form with white flashing eyes. The spiritual projection then fired a furious blue flame that lit the whole scene in a brilliant flash of light that surprised the entire audience.

The sight of the almighty dragon sent chills of pure excitement throughout the crowd as they backed away from the extreme firepower of its flames being shot up in the air before it disintegrated into the air with a shiny finish. Upon finishing the act, Preston then relaxed his body after being drained of his energy from performing that move.

And as it turned out, the results were worth the effort. Preston could hear the sounds of clapping and cheers from the audience who were now in high jolly good spirits after finally seeing what Preston could do. It was such a bright and spectacular show of force that was enough to wow them all, especially the children who yelled at the top of their voices cheering on for the magician.

It was now time for Weiss to finally stop underestimating the boy. She looked on in awe at the powerful spectacle of seeing him summon a dragon from his body and flared up a great flame of blue fire right up in the sky. And here she thought the guy was nothing but a penniless freeloader. Apparently, he must have had some mighty Semblance inside of him to make such a move. She had to admit; this kid must have been one heck of a warrior, probably even having a hidden Huntsman inside of him. Now, she was really interested in seeing what he was capable of. After all, he wasn't the only person who could bring upon an astral being from his own powers.

"Thank you!" She watched as Preston bowed to the crowd amidst the clapping and money dropping down into his hat. He wasn't really expecting much success, but they were pouring in notes of lien into the hat like an ATM. Although it wasn't a big crowd, he accepted whatever amounts he got from them; just as long as it was enough to spend a few nights in a motel and afford edible food. "Thank you!" And after the generous offerings, the crowd finally left the scene, having had their excitement filled enough. Preston was satisfied with the outcome, putting in the lien inside his jacket and waving off to crowd afterwards.

As Preston prepared to move away from the street, Weiss was eager to know what that man was really capable of. So, she walked towards him, crossing the road with stride while making sure she was gentle and polite enough, considering her previous encounter with the boy was, to put it lightly, unsettling.

Preston was about to leave the area when he was met by Weiss strolling towards him. He didn't really want to mess with her this time, remembering the awkward meeting they had outside the motel earlier. He knew she was watching him perform to the people earlier and even after stumbling twice in a row, his final ultimate move may have peaked her interest. Thus, he had to make sure he wasn't going to mess up with introductions this time.

"Oh, hey." he simply greeted with a bit of hesitation, not wanting to upset this seemingly cold-hearted rich girl. Weiss just crossed her arms, wanting to get straight to the point with what she wanted to know about this mysterious man.

"How… did you do that?" She asked, pausing a bit in the middle to show how much she wanted to question him.

"You mean my little magic trick?" asked Preston, soon turning to boasting about his incredible power to summon that dragon. "Oh, it's nothing special. Just an old recipe for the crowd to feel extravagant about their viewing experience." Preston carried on being proud of himself, even when the past endeavours back at Summer Cove kept him from going the extra mile with his self-credit. Nevertheless, Weiss didn't really care about what he thought; she just wished to know the nature of his power, looking to see if there was a way they could become associated with one another for Weiss' own prowess. If she could get him to teach her how to summon such power, than she could probably give herself and her team the edge to face off against any potential combatant she would eventually fight at the Tournament.

"Whatever Semblance you have, I was actually impressed." Preston raised an eyebrow of curiosity. Semblance? What was she talking about his appearance? Did his magician attire really appeal to her that much? Whatever the case was, he knew that it was his dragon fire trick that mattered most in this conversation. "Not many around here could ever conjure such a powerful beast like that." So, it would appear that the locals here could also do magic? That there were other magical spells and stunts that were unique to this world? There was so much to learn from this weird place, and he had the feeling he was about to have a really long lecture with this ice queen.

"You're kinda on the mark there." noted Preston, brushing off the tip of the hat before pushing it into a flat circle and putting it back into his coat.

"So, are you going to tell me how you summoned a beast with your Aura?" demanded Weiss, using a term that Preston felt was so foreign, so new that his own imaginative mind couldn't guess what it was.

"Aura?" he asked again, with a hand to the chin. "What's that?" Weiss couldn't believe her ears. He was kidding, right? He had to be; there was no way he could ever be so laid back to not know the fundamentals of being a powered being in this world. She just chuckled sarcastically, thinking that Preston was just being a real joker of himself.

"Ha ha. Very funny, magic boy." Weiss shook her head, showing her distaste of the 'joke'. She settled in for a few seconds to wait for the boy to stop fooling around and show her how he got his powers and abilities. It was just ridiculous to keep up with this unnecessary sham for long. All she got, however, was silence. She looked at Preston, seeing the confused look on his face for a while now.

"Wait? You're seriously not kidding, are you?" She was even more baffled by what the legit expression which pretty much confirmed that this was no joke to him. He truly was lost in the topic of her question, that he did indeed not know what Aura was. Jaune didn't know what Aura was, but at least he didn't have any extraordinary powers to show for it. This guy had something far more magical, fired out with little difficulty. Surely, he must have some knowledge of what he was made of to perform such a move.

"Seriously what?" Now, Weiss was beyond bewildered by how isolated Preston's view of the world was. "How can you possibly not know what Aura is? It allows you to power up that dragon! Surely, you have Aura to do that, don't you?" Preston couldn't understand Weiss, both because of the stuff about Aura she was throwing at him and why she had to be so shocked by it. Well, it was understandable enough that she probably assumed he was from this world, but because she was so quick to shout it out, he had no way of explaining to her about who he really was and most importantly, where he came from.

"I'm… not sure if I'm following here." Struggling to talk was all he could do. There was no choice but to ask, probably putting his mission at risk but anything to get this snob out of his hair. "What is this 'Aura' you're speaking of?" Flabbergasted even more, Weiss gasped, offended further by Preston's blindness to the significant power of Aura that everyone on this planet could learn to love. "I'm not sure if I really need it anyway."

Then, it suddenly became clear to Weiss. It made sense that someone like Preston could actually think about saying such a thing. This man… must be really arrogant.

"Alright." She nodded her head in a 'now I get it' expression. "I see what you're trying to pull. You think you're so great, thinking you can summon a power like that all on your own, huh?" Weiss accused, turning her body to face him while having her arms still crossed together.

"Uhhh…" Still, Preston did not know what to say, becoming quite annoyed of Weiss' apparent offense towards him. He didn't know how this world worked, so why not give him a break?! He wished Weiss would stop being such a snob and try to understand that he was a foreigner from a faraway world who had very little to no understanding of everything around him. He didn't have time for this nonsense; he had a mission to fulfil. Find any leads of Galvanax's involvement with this world and put an end to it. With a stern face, he tried to be as polite as possible, hoping for no ill will between them as he tried to dismiss her.

"Look, I don't have time for this. I've got some things to do, alright? I've got things to worry about right now." With a bow to bid her farewell, Preston tried to walk off to get back to that motel and finally pay off for the night's room. However, as he walked on, Weiss was not done with him, still bent on showing him who was boss in this fair city.

"Fine, then." she huffed. "But if you're so talented, how about a little challenge?" Then, Preston stopped in his tracks. He turned around to look at Weiss, seeing her irate while having her fists down at her hips and her foot tapping on the ground. He didn't want to make a big fuss about it, but she was really pushing his buttons, not seeing the point of making some challenge between them.

"What kind of challenge?" he asked anyway, deciding to at least be attentive.

"I, Weiss Schnee, proud heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, hereby challenge you to a duel to…" Weiss went on to propose the duel between two powerful warriors, to show this runt what it took to have such power in this world. That everyone should at least know how things worked around here.

Preston was about to prepare himself for a round of hectic proportions, hearing enough that he would have to face this brat in a one-on-one duel to see who was the better individual. Heck, he wasn't even told that she had something of the same powers as he did. Given the way she was challenging him with pride, she seemed to be quite talented in doing some magic on her own. Did this world have all sorts of magic users like Weiss?

Could that be why Galvanax was here? And speaking of Galvanax, he wouldn't have to wait long to find out about his enemy's presence on this strange world. Looking past Weiss, while she was still carrying on about her petty duel, Preston could see something happening behind her. He had to look closer to see it, but that was when he knew things were about to get really troubling.

"Hey!" snapped Weiss, irritated that the boy was not paying attention to her. "Are you even listening to me?!" Preston obviously didn't bother about listening to Weiss. He had a bigger problem that was right behind her and unfortunately for Weiss, it wasn't anything to be competitive about.

"Run." Preston muttered. Weiss saw the panic on his face, forced to shut herself up to see it right in front of her. Unfortunately, she hadn't bothered to ask why he was so rushed with panic and instead took it as a sign of offense towards her presence;

"Are you mocking me?! You think you're so powerful?!" Weiss scoffed with her arms crossed and her back bent back to distance herself from the negative affliction of an apparently brewing competition between them. She then moved forward and pointed a finger at his face with a strict tone, reprimanding the boy and showing him that she meant business. "Why, I have some good news for you… you disrespectful piece of-!" Before she could finish, Preston turned around and bolted away, but not before letting Weiss know that she was not in a right place at the right time.

"Run!" He continued to run and run as far away from Weiss as possible, hoping she would just turn around. Weiss was about to let loose another ill-tempered banter when she heard a few grunting noises from behind her.

"Huh?" She turned around and saw what was making those noises. What she soon laid her eyes on would baffle her to new heights. It was a squad of blue-armoured soldiers walking around with ridiculous-looking helmets and outdated rifles. They were already looking her way, one of them pointing at her while signalling the other men to pursue her.

Weiss wanted to stare at them and wonder what kind of ridiculous trick was this. These were completely dorky-looking people dressed in such ancient armour. She was going to call them out and question their presence here in Vale. That was when she saw them pointing their rifles around, which meant that they were more of a threat than a strange presence. Why was someone like Preston, powerful and skilled in some form of Semblance, could just run away from these things? Clearly, he wasn't as magnificent as she once thought. She was going to show him what she was made of.

Weiss stayed in place without following Preston's warning, standing her ground against the wave of monstrous soldiers now stalking towards her. She brushed off her ponytail to prepare her for the fight that was about to happen within the city walls. Whoever these punks were, they were dealing with the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company. She was no damsel in distress; she was a Huntress, full of pride and power.

Preston ran out a few more feet before he turned around to see if the girl had been following close behind. Unfortunately, by the time he moved his head to face the heiress' back, expecting her to run his way, he became startled by the sight of seeing Weiss standing up to the Kudabots with no backup. Preston panicked. She was unprotected and completely at the mercy of these goons, and yet, she stood defiantly against the Kudabots all alone. Acting upon good will, he had to run back and help her escape the wrath of these dangerous foot soldiers, doing what he was meant to do.

Weiss was about to pull out Myrtenaster from her belt to fight the enemy in front of her, when suddenly, she was interrupted by a loud call from Preston.

"Wait!" Her moment interrupted, she darted around to see the boy dashing towards her. She didn't know why she was being such a magnet for the weird today, but she didn't have time for such nonsense. He was getting in the way of her upcoming fight against these hideous creatures and she certainly didn't want to face the possibility of making another casualty out of this fool.

"Get back!" Weiss warned, but her request came unheard as Preston charged forth and tackled himself at the squad of Kudabots, surprising everyone, including the heiress and the goons. "What are you doing?!" Weiss snapped, watching in shock as Preston eventually had the guts to fight the enemy.

"What does it look like I'm doing?!" exclaimed Preston as he took on the Kudabots. "I'm trying to get you to safety!" One of the soldiers tried to bash the human on the head with the stock of its rifle, swinging it right for him. Preston saw the attack coming and delivered a nice kick upwards to knock the rifle off away from him. Soon after, he retaliated with a following spin kick to the Kudabot's head, sending it spinning to the ground. He then punched one more with a strong fist at its head, but the Kudabot caught his arm, stopping the attack. Fortunately, Preston was still the nimbler fighter, kicking the Kudabot with his foot before flinging himself backwards.

"Why do you think **I** need saving?" countered Weiss.

"Umm… hello! You're an heiress! You must be too important to get hurt or something." Preston argued on before being grabbed upon by a Kudabot. One which he was all too willing to throw off his back with one mighty judo move. "Go! I'll take care of these clowns!" As he continued to fight off the Kudabots, Weiss stood behind, fists clenching and ego burning up inside her. There were a lot of things she hated from the opinions of certain boys, and the thought of her assumed of being a defenceless woman was probably the most infuriating. It certainly didn't help that the boy 'rescuing' her wasn't paying attention to her when she said she too was skilled in projecting powerful apparitions. Either way, she wasn't going to back down from a fight; a chance to prove to the city that she had what it took to save lives. As noble as Preston was, he was not going to have all the credit for saving the city.

"Not a chance." At that moment, Weiss pulled out her shining silver rapier from her belt and proceeded to press on the handle to rotate the colourful Dust cylinders inside the weapon. With grace and a bit of power, she unleashed a shining white circle of aura below her feet that energized her body, allowing her to then accelerate forward and skated towards the fight.

Preston was about to give another Kudabot a strong punch to the head when he felt the wind blowing against him. Along with the breeze, he felt a very chilling sensation dashing right by, making the strands of his hair straighten from the freezing blow of the wind. When he turned around, he saw that, from out of nowhere, the girl he tried to save had swooped by and slashed at a Kudabot within milliseconds since he laid his eyes on it being cut down. He then bared witness to Weiss gliding to the other Kudabot a few feet away and finished it off as well.

She then brought the blade to her face, closing her eyes as she moved her finger very close and across the blade, unleashing her inner aura as she aimed the tip towards the rest of the Kudabots. Weiss then conjured a blistering twister of snow-like particles that sped right for them, piercing them with their hard and sharp edges like a barrage of knives thrown at them.

Once the storm was over, Preston reeled from what he encountered after seeing Weiss effortlessly demolished the entire squad of Kudabots with only a few moves. The sheer power of her magic had completely wiped out the opposition, with the help of some mystical sword that allowed her to summon these awesome powers. All of which she was able to utilize gracefully and, ironically, without mercy. It looked like she wasn't just cold from her attitude, she was pure freezing with all the right moves and power. In awe, he breathed out the amazement in his voice at how skilful and precise Weiss' strikes were against the Kudabots.

"That was simply… magical." he gasped with admiration. Weiss shook her head to whip the ponytail after her rush against the Kudabots, making herself comfortable after the attacks messed her hair, if ever so slightly. She took one good gaze at Preston who was still staring at her with amazement. It was this time to take in the glory and let the boy know who he was talking to.

"Now, are you impressed?" Weiss showed off with a grin, pride and self-esteem voiced out with a Schnee's ease. Preston couldn't help but feel very astounded of Weiss' power that all of his awkward discomfort towards her snobby attitude were almost forgotten, save for the last bit where she gloated. He was going to commend her amazing abilities to make magic like that, and then perhaps ask her how she got so powerful. Maybe there was a good chance that he might learn a lot from this girl after all.

However, the chance would not come when the two teens heard another collective set of high-pitched gibberish, instantly recognized as the same ones coming from those hideous creatures Weiss so easily eliminated earlier.

"What?!" Overwhelmed by the larger size of a new squad, the Huntress-in-training couldn't believe that there would be more of them coming. Just when she thought she had it easy, of course, things just strike back when she least expected it. Just how much more would ever catch her off guard? For Preston, however, this was nothing new at all.

"And this is where I lose my element of surprise." With no surprise whatsoever, Preston only slumped his arms, expecting another round with the nuisance that had been plaguing his days for some time now.

"More of them?!" Weiss cried with shock.

"Yeah. They do that a lot." cleared Preston, evidently very tired of dealing with more Kudabots. Weiss had to snap her attention back to Preston after hearing how bored he got with having more of these unknown soldiers coming out of nowhere. From his not-so stellar response to the enemy, she had the feeling that there was a connection between these two sides, as if he had come across these minions before.

"You know who these freak shows are?" Inquisitively, the fact that Preston had faced such ugly creatures before needed a lot more clarification. Whatever he had to do with these monsters, she wanted answers as soon as she could.

"Four words; Kudabots. Nasty and evil." Suavely, Preston showed that these minions needed no introduction. They were among the most irritating foes he had to face in recent months and he wanted Weiss to know how much trouble they were. Suddenly, the two didn't have time to clear things up, as the Kudabots all charged forward to fight them. "We have to drive them away from the open!" Preston exerted the need to divert any attention from the public, advising Weiss that they must get the Kudabots as far away as possible from any innocents, especially since he had to keep his involvement with these other-worldly beings a secret from everyone.

Weiss couldn't argue with a safety precaution, even if it was from this boy who had some sort of knowledge about these 'Kudabots' as Preston called them. The safety of the citizens came first and as a Huntress, she had to consider bringing the fight elsewhere so no one would get in the way. Thus, after nodding reluctantly to Preston, she then made a run to distract the Kudabots, followed by the boy. As they scurried off elsewhere, the Kudabots immediately followed behind, pursuing the two teens to remove any opposition.

Weiss and Preston ran across the street and jumped down to the canal areas of the city, close to the docks which provided a serene flow of water channel. They stepped down the stone steps and into the side of the canal until they reached underneath a bridge where they might be able to avoid any unwanted attention. As they stopped under the shady belly of the bridge, they could see that the Kudabots had managed to follow them all the way to their location. Preston gladly sighed, thankful that no one had ever seen them running after him, let alone getting in the way. Now, all he had to worry about was fighting alongside a prideful skating heiress.

"Who are these guys, really?" she groaned before turning to Preston to get some answers from him. "Who are you?" Even as Kudabots were facing them intent on destruction, Preston quickly dismissed her attempt at getting to know him.

"No time. If you really want to fight, then do as I say." Weiss scoffed at Preston's request to lead the fight.

"Tch! I don't need to take orders from some… amateur magician!" Weiss was prepared to make her move and go up ahead. However, she had to wonder how would Preston sustain long enough for a fight like this. If he couldn't use his magic tricks for combat earlier, then surely he wouldn't be such a competent comrade to fight with against a horde of these unknown threats.

How wrong she was going to be… Preston stood out despite her discomforting perception of his skills and lack of arsenal. While the Kudabots squabbled some more, he was ready to let Weiss know how much she had underestimated of him. He reached for his pocket and pulled out his Morpher and blue Power Star, leaving Weiss to witness it all.

" **POWER STAR! LOCK IN!** " With his Power Star out front, he then swung his hand and the star towards the larger red Morpher and locked the Star in place. Giving it one last push, Preston spun the Power Star and let its energy do the rest.

" **NINJA SPIN!** " The rotating blades spun with such velocity, blue and white sparks began to fizz out before a white blanket of light covered Preston's body, which also started to reveal the new body suit beneath it. The final touch; his own signature Ranger helmet was placed over his head and his transformation was finally complete, transforming Preston into the Blue Ranger. He had his Star Blade immediately after the morphing, ready to face the Kudabots the best way he could.

It was this transformation that quickly took Weiss by immediate shock. She flinched to see that in Preston's place, this weird warrior in a suit and helmet appeared within an instant. As stupid as the outfit looked, she couldn't comprehend what he had become. This dorky-looking hero wannabe with a colourful sword. Then again, if he was able to summon a powerful dragon and fight decently, then perhaps this was some sort of power boost, despite the childish look of the kid's show superhero.

"What kind of Semblance does this guy have?!" she wondered wildly upon seeing the sudden transformation.

Preston prepared to move out and take on the Kudabots. The goons took their defensive stances, with their rifles and Basher clubs at the ready. Weiss, too, had her Myrtenaster drawn out and powered up with another clip of Dust. This time, whether she liked it or not, she was going to have to work together with Preston. She would have to give him the chance to prove himself and let him deal with enemies who were apparently his.

"Let's get this over with!" cried Preston.

"Very well." agreed Weiss. Soon, the Kudabots began to charge forward and attack the two heroes along the thick sidewalk next to the canal. The blue-skinned troopers with their firearms stood behind while the ones wielding their melee weapons faced the two at close quarters. Weiss began by engaging two of the Kudabots, swinging Myrtenaster with grace and precision at blocking off each attack. Preston, on the other hand, resorted to quicker tricks and rapid sword strikes with his Star Blade, flipping about as he fought three more Kudabots.

Weiss summoned her power and strengthened her blade with a durable, icy coat of aura that made her strikes stronger. Her slashes simply knocked the Kudabots' blades away before she moved in for the kill. When one was about to kick her down, Weiss leapt back to avoid being hit and skidded away. Within range, she pulled the trigger on her weapon and the cylinders inside it clicked with a rotation to switch to an electrical charge that surged across her blade. She aimed right at the Kudabots before shooting out a stream of electric shots that zapped right at them. The bolts precisely hit the two of them and sent them fidgeting violently to the ground before completely blowing up in two small explosions.

Weiss panicked when she saw them exploding, triggered by the sudden noise of the explosions. That would most certainly catch everyone's attention… Also, it was very surprising the minions had blown up in the first place. Grimm had always just dissipated into ashes and other enemies pretty much just fell to the ground, unconscious. Exploding enemies, however, was very much unheard of.

Preston fought three of the Kudabots as they flanked him from both sides. One by one, they took turns trying to bring down the Ranger. He was too close for them to fire their rifles and had to resort to fighting with the stocks at the back of their guns and the sharp edges of their bayonets. Not that they were any less dangerous, as the hard iron material could still knock a Ranger unconscious. Thus, Preston wasted no time slicing them up as fast as he could.

The Blue Ranger was able to strike one of the Kudabots without problem with his sword. Immediately afterwards, he swung his sword to the other side to block off another charging Kudabot before swiping it off with a good kick to the chest, sending it tumbling into the water. For the final Kudabot, Preston slashed his sword, being blocked by the Kudabot's rifle, but then gave it another swing that was strong enough to swipe the weapon of the goon's hands.

Just as he finished kicking the one Kudabot into the river, he then prepared to take out the two others he had managed to injure. However, the two of them still managed to remain strong and fought him again, charging with their rifles to stab the Ranger with their bayonets. Preston quickly pulled out his frog-like Ninja Blaster and fired away, blasting out blue bolts of energy that vaporized the Kudabots into oblivion.

Weiss was just about to meet up with Preston to finally get things straight with the situation and discuss what she might had done to solve it. Unfortunately, once again, they were interrupted by another swarm of Kudabots and now, Basher bots coming in towards them. Flanked from both sides of the canal, the two heroes backed up, both of them facing away from each other to look at each group of enemy goons.

Weiss panted softly, having been exhausted from using her aura on these fragile enemies, as she aimed her rapier at her side of foes, while Preston, breathing heavier breathes, was pointing his sword on his own end.

"They're just too many of them." panted Weiss, getting tired of fighting these seemingly endless waves of strange creatures, alongside an even stranger boy in a suit. She had so many questions flooding her head about what in the world was going on.

"Just keep up the pressure." advised Preston again. "They don't last long."

"For your sake, they better not." Weiss' hostile tone was starting to annoy Preston, and let him add that, aside from Victor and Monty, no one would go to such lengths to irritate him. On the plus side, though, Weiss had a right to worry about her home world. Victor and Monty, on the other hand, were more worried about themselves; Victor probably more so.

Either way, he was going to have to put up with it if he wanted to rid the city of the Kudabots. However, it did raise suspicions as to how these Kudabots ended up in the city and what it might mean for the city. Could there be a monster leading them here, or were they just randomly deployed ahead of the Rangers' expectations? Well, whatever the case, he had to do something and repel Galvanax's influence to the inevitable chaos that might spread, and it all came down to his abilities as a Ranger.

So much for maintaining a low profile…

"You think you can still fight?" asked Preston.

"Naturally." answered Weiss with suave. "We'd best be done with this nuisance of yours." Preston rolled his eyes, not wanting the girl to refer to the Kudabots as **his** nuisance, despite the practicality of it all; that their presence was indeed motivated by Galvanax's desire to destroy him and his fellow Rangers. Out of the blue, however, he felt like starting things off with Weiss, hoping to at least form a partnership between the two combatants.

"My name's Preston by the way." said Preston, coming off as a tad bit goofy, which didn't really impress the heiress with the rapier.

"Less talking. More fighting." cleared Weiss, putting the Blue Ranger in his place.

"Sorry." Before long, the Kudabots began their assault on the two, flanking them from both sides. Weiss and Preston stayed in position, waiting for the alien soldiers to reach them before, when in range, countering back with their own moves.

As soon as the Kudabots on her side came, Weiss created another snowflake-shaped ring around her feet and used her aura to charge right at the group, crashing into them like a battering ram and sending them flinging to the wall on her right and one of them into the water on the other side. Preston, on the other hand, simply jumped over the heads of his side of the horde, rolling to the ground before facing back at them.

Weiss was already being surrounded by the two remaining Kudabots as they continued to attack her with rapid speed. The graceful Huntress was still able to hold out on her own, however, swiftly blocking each attack with Myrtenaster like a fencer sparring against a bunch of clumsy drunkards in a tough street. The limited amount of space didn't seem to bother her as well; her slim posture allowed her to stay close in the middle of the narrow pavement.

One of the Kudabots soon dashed to try and spear Weiss with its bayonet, but she was able to see the attack coming and spin away to let the Kudabot crash into the other behind her. In position, she had them right where she wanted them. She concentrated her energy into the blade again and, this time, swung it straight at them to fire up a stream of flames that incinerated them to ashes, ending her fight almost effortlessly.

"Hmph." She gloated with a huff, swinging her blade down to the ground while standing proudly over her victory.

Preston, meanwhile, was leaping over and through the four other Kudabots, using the wall to vault over them and keeping his balance as he navigated through the tight space of the floor. When all four Kudabots charged, he had one little trick up his sleeve; something he had done once back home. He turned left and jumped, straight into the water in a dive. The Kudabots didn't have time to pursue the Ranger, stopping just at the edge to stare down at the water where Preston dived into, only seeing the splash die down and ripples produced. They waited for any signs of the Ranger, eager to find out if he had somehow drowned himself, or was simply ridiculous to jump in like some coward.

Then, all of a sudden, the water raged wildly as the blue form of Preston leaping out of the canal, jumping right into the four of them and tackling them with his arms spread out. The Ranger crashed right into the four goons and brought them down to the ground in a heavy fall before rolling behind them upon landing. With the enemy down, he prepared for one final attack.

"Dragon's Ire." His arms, at opposite ends, waved around before he thrust his right arm to summon another apparition of a dragon much smaller than the one he managed to unleash for the crowd earlier. "Full of Fire!" The spiritual abstract form of the blue dragon slither around his arm before facing the Kudabots and breathing out a large fireball that completely blanketed them in a burning trap that eventually destroyed them.

All the while, after Weiss had destroyed her side of Kudabots, she managed to catch Preston's magic trick yet again. While the dragon was smaller than the one she got to see back at the street, she was still somewhat impressed by what Preston was able to unleash with only the tinier version of the serpent, incinerating his foes with one blast. With that, she walked towards the Ranger, who was also breathing in for a moment of exhaustion.

It seemed like the worse was over. After beating the Kudabots, the two waited to see if anymore would come to attack them. While all was quiet at the moment, Weiss now had the space and time to commend the ninja Ranger for his skills.

"Not bad." she bluntly praised.

"You're quite the fighter yourself." Preston stated back. At least Weiss was being courteous enough to comment on his abilities as a fighter, so she could use some praise back. Now, while the peace was present, Weiss took the time to finally get to the bottom of this whole strange chain of events. With a sneer and her arms crossed, she began the questioning, hoping to get all the answers she needed from this strange kid from who knew where. What were those beings he apparently knew of, and what kind of powers did he possess to transform him into this ridiculous-looking superhero from children's television programming?

"So, do you mind telling me what is going on here?" began Weiss.

"No time." However, Preston simply shrugged off the question, wanting to have his own answers as to what his old enemy was doing in the city. "I've got to find out what these Kudabots are doing here." Weiss was soon left disappointed that Preston refused to say anything about himself or what crazy situation he had brought upon here in Vale. He was more concerned about the threat of Galvanax and what he wanted with this world.

"Look, thanks for helping me out, but I have to go and find out what's going on here." he added. "Just… don't tell anyone about this. If you can help me, then you might need to keep all of this a secret."

Weiss couldn't help but feel insulted that Preston had considered her unimportant for the protection of the city. The nerve of the boy to go and leave her to shut her mouth about what she had been involved in. There was no way she was going to be silenced for the purpose of maintaining a secret. She had every right to know what was threatening her city and she was going to let Preston know that she meant business.

"Oh." She tapped her finger on her lips while gazing up in the air, being coy with her approach. "I don't know. Maybe I should… do the right thing and tell the police." As she expected, she had gotten Preston really good. The Ranger snapped, turning around to face the heiress to see that she was being very sly with him now.

"What?!" he exclaimed. Weiss decided to play along and kept up her persuasive threat.

"These things clearly are a threat and they must be dealt with." She continued to toy with Preston's fidgeting anxiety. "And I suppose I can give credit to the mysterious ninja warrior in spandex who helped me out." Another card down on the table; exposing him for being involved as well, thus making him a prime suspect for the situation.

 _NOT SPANDEX!_ An ominous high-pitched female cry from out of nowhere echoed through the scene as if it came from the seas.

"You don't understand. This is a very important mission. Which, I might add, is top secret!" defended Preston, still agitated by Weiss' threat to expose him and his mission. He was going to keep on pressuring her to stop, but she still went on.

"Whatever goes on here in Vale is my business. As is every Huntsman or Huntress of this city." told Weiss with burning passion. Preston, however, didn't get the idea of what she was and what she was meant to do.

"Huntsman? Huntress?" repeated the Ranger, confused over the seemingly dangerous title she had given herself.

"Please. Don't play that stupid trick on me." She just scoffed at his confusion, thinking that he was fooling around with her. The only thing was that she was indeed unaware that he had no idea on how the Huntsmen functioned in this world. Nevertheless, Preston was too spooked to even bother asking on, more worried about his mission. "Are you going to let me help you, or shall I call for backup?" The moment Weiss had finished; he was hit with a hard dilemma. Unfortunately, as much as he wanted to keep on fighting back, she was already hard set on making sure she got her chance to save lives and finding out what she needed to know from him. The Ranger was now trapped; unable to relent any longer.

He couldn't afford to spoil the mission at a rate much worse than it already was. If he was going to lessen the exposure, then he would have to spill the beans and finally satisfy the heiress' questions. Hesitantly,

"Fine…" groaned Preston, surrendering to the threatening persuasion. "You can come along." Perhaps it would be best to let her on with his mission. She was still a powerful warrior after all, and maybe it wouldn't be an entirely bad idea to let her follow along, just as long as she kept her lips sealed for the whole time working together.

"There. What's that ever so hard?" quipped Weiss with sass, grinning slyly for her successful attempt on gaining Preston's trust in allowing her to follow him. Finally, she could get her questions figured out about what was about to threaten the peace of Vale again. This unknown threat had to be dealt with, even if it was beyond anything she would be prepared for.

"You're really not going to like what's coming." warned Preston.

"I am Weiss Schnee. Heiress to the Schnee Dust Company. I can handle myself just fine." Weiss assured with pride and confidence. **Dust** company? Why would she be invested in some dust? Is that the real money grab this world had to offer? If that was the case, then this must be one twisted place. At least the people here are sociable, unlike her… "So, where do you suggest we begin?"

"I'm…" Preston was about to go forth with what he was about to do to find out more about Galvanax's plans for this strange world. Unfortunately, it didn't really come out right, simply because he didn't know where to go through next. This lack of foresight stopped him from carrying on. "Not sure…"

"Ugh… Thought so…" muttered Weiss. "No wonder you've been kicked out of a motel. You're just a lost cause." The comment wasn't really appreciated by the Blue Ranger. This was going to be one heck of a partnership, if he could call it one…

Regardless, if he needed all the help he could get, especially with navigating through the city, Preston had to depend on someone who could probably help in the form of both guidance through the world and actual help fighting against any further threats that might come their way. Despite his slight hesitation, however it may be, he had to depend on Weiss' help out of anyone who had similar powers.

So, after accepting Weiss into his mission, the two were prepared to move on to find out what was going on behind the scenes as evil threatened to bring more chaos to the city of Vale, far more powerful than the two of them had ever imagined…

* * *

Said evil had been brewing about in the shady alleyways of the city, where even sunlight couldn't expose it. It was, however, in a seemingly abandoned warehouse where the worst of the worst truly manifested in, with two sides of darkness converged to meet and plot. The structure did look very lost and left unattended, with cracks on the walls and webs stuck to the dirtiest corners of the inside, as well as machines completely shut down and rusted from long years of abandonment. It was the perfect place to have a dark, secretive meeting, and that was what was going to happen.

The lone, shrouding figure of a robed creature crept into the building with her yellow clothes drifting along the ground as she walked. The white evil mask of Madame Odius soon checked around the room of the warehouse, looking for the few people she had been conspiring with for a while now. She found the bunch of people idly waiting for her in the building, right at the centre as if they knew the exact time of her arrival without having to hide deeper from any prying eyes.

The one with the dark grey hair known as Mercury was sitting relaxed on top of the deactivated conveyor belt with his left knee up on the dirty thick rubber belt while his partner, Emerald, leaned against the machine connected to the belt. Their boss, Cinder, was standing in front of them, arms crossed with her finger tapping on her arm. She had been waiting for the sorceress to meet up with her after a sudden call. After hearing what Madame Odius had to say, she felt like the alien woman had been troubled by something in her plans. Whatever it was that was stressing her was clearly another surprise waiting to spoil her own ambitions.

"So, what do you need, Odius?" Cinder called, feeling the anxiety from Odius' moody attitude.

"It seems we hit a little obstacle in our way." reported Madame Odius, plagued by the one problem she hoped wouldn't happen. Cinder raised an eyebrow from curiosity, wondering what it could be that was troubling her uneasy ally.

"What could possibly go wrong this time?" she asked with sully calmness. Odius wouldn't find it really assuring once she showed them what could be in her way this time. She reached out her palm to summon a purple cloud that shrouded over her hand. Within the middle, a clear orb of light formed, causing Cinder to come in closer to take a look, joined by her two cohorts who also fell eager to know what all the worrying was about. The light orb in the cloud began to reveal a small vision picturing the source of Odius' distress.

"These." When the image became clearer, it soon revealed the group of six colourful warriors clad in suits with blades drawn out and gathered together in poses. To Odius, this was the image of pure disgust, but to the humans she allied with, this was rather a very peculiar sight. They did not have a good idea on what Odius was trying to emphasize, instead being shown some dorky-looking hero wannabes. "These are our mortal enemies from our world. They call themselves the Power Rangers."

Mercury and Emerald just didn't know if they should take this seriously, glancing at each other with puzzled faces, while Cinder looked on with neutral taste, if not a bit unamused by what Odius saw as a problem.

"You expect us to take a bunch of losers in childish outfits as serious threats?" uttered Mercury, being the first to voice out how awkward and anticlimactic the reveal was. These 'mortal enemies' didn't even seem menacing or even threatening. They were the sort of beings who he could take pleasure of punching and kicking up, but only because it would only be out of amusement rather than the thrill of challenging action.

"I assure you. These are not your average heroes." explained Odius. "They are far more powerful than you think. They possess powers that even rival that of Galvanax himself." Cinder had to grasp her chin with her two fingers, wondering about how could these pathetic heroes could ever face up against anything her world had to offer. "And as it so happened, one of them managed to team up with one of your enemies to defeat one of my contestants."

"Okay, so they're a bunch of losers in childish outfits… with tremendous powers." mused Mercury again. "Still not buying it."

"And if these Power Rangers are as dangerous as you say they are…" added Emerald. "How do you expect to handle the problem now?"

"So far, there is only one Ranger confirmed to be working with a Huntress." reported Odius, sparking some alarm in the group for a change. So, apparently, those bratty Huntresses were foolish enough to even have one of these childish warriors by their side, making it seem even more of a reason to at least cause some concern. "There's no telling if the others are out there, forming their own alliance with your foes. If we wish to mobilize and have our goals realized, then we must formulate a plan."

Cinder had to think this through. She did have to look at things at a far deeper level, ahead of the physical appearances of these warriors and envision the possible threats they did pose. The Huntresses and Huntsmen were able to repulse a major emergency and as much as they all played into her hands, she still had some form of respect for their abilities. So, it came to the idea of not judging a book by its cover. If Odius truly saw these fighters as real enemies, then perhaps it was for a good reason.

"You raise a very clear point." She decided to acknowledge the Power Rangers as potential problems, not on the level of animosity yet, considering she had to see for herself how powerful these warriors really were. Then, she soon put her thoughts together to find a way to help Odius prepare for the inevitable moment her own forces had to come into blows with the Rangers. It didn't take her long to find her answer that might prove progressive enough to move forward with the ultimate plan. "Perhaps there is a way we can settle the problem."

"Speak your mind." Odius crept closer to Cinder, eager to hear what the mysterious woman had in mind. She then looked towards her minions to let them into the new phase of her plans.

"Mercury, Emerald." she called out to them, causing them to stand straight at attention.

"Yes, miss?" Emerald, being the loyal one of the pair, complied with her master's command. Cinder gave the two a cold smirk with intent on bringing chaos growing high before she told them further of her newest scheme.

"I have a little assignment for the two of you."

 **TO BE CONTINUED…**


	9. The Heiress and the Sorcerer

**Once again, another late chapter, but hopefully it is still being waited upon!**

 **Reviews:**

 **DB-19**

 **Well, you're about to get your answer on this chapter! Stay around for the show! And I'm also going to be very careful with using Zyuohger monsters to be adapted here. I mean, we now know that Saban is going to adapt Go-Busters next year, so it might mean that Zyuohger may still have to be adapted. Though, Cruiser looks very promising, and I shall consider adding him to the story. Thanks for the suggestion.**

 **Also, regarding your theory, I really don't want to delve into all of that. After The Last Jedi, the last thing I need is to be caught in theory trains, so I just need to watch the actual episodes or movies and just enjoy!**

 **Dinosaur Imperial Soldier**

 **Watch the series on YouTube. It's an official YT series after all!**

 **Guest**

 **Please let me know how I may have broken her character. I can't really know what I may have done wrong unless you give me the specifics. Once done, I will gladly consider fixing her up.**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: The Heiress and the Sorcerer**

 _Warrior Dome,_

 _Galaxy Warriors,_

 _Orbit of Remnant,_

When Galvanax had his giant arena ship entering the unknown realm of Remnant, he expected cheers and applauses of grand enjoyment from the crowd as his contestants threatened to destroy everything in their path. The arrival of humans skilled in the arts of hunting and arcane powers had made the show all the more enticing and extreme. Having the alien warriors fight a group of such humans also presented them with the most uplifting chance of glory they would ever get.

Now, however, things got even worse than they needed to be. Much to his chagrin, he had to sit idly as two of his contestants were obliterated by the same girls who had easily stormed all over them. Human girls! The humiliation was all he could take. Worse still, his problems with his mortal enemies, the Power Rangers hadn't helped. Now that one of them, the traitor who had escaped his grasp, had joined the new enemy in the fight, the crowd was not very happy with the performance and the arrival of the characters they loved to hate.

And to Galvanax, of course, an unsatisfied crowd meant very, **very** low ratings.

"Sir!" He didn't need to hear Cosmo Royale shriek out in a panic after a disruptive audience decided to boo him to backstage. He could already hear the unpleased cries coming from all the way to his throne room. Moreover, he certainly didn't want to hear Cosmo running in like a mad freak. Seriously, why did he even hire this nervous wreck? "The crowd is getting quite restless! Toma Bomba and Rotlight's defeats have left a very sour taste in their mouths! And if we don't screen another episode real soon, then we'll be forced to go for a live re-run!" He was about to throttle his arm and grab Cosmo by the throat, when Ripcon spoke up, interrupting his urge to punish.

"Broadcasting an old episode to a live audience? Who does that?" Ripcon ranted with sarcasm before being straightforward with how he felt. "Oh yes. No one! We'll be the laughing stock of the entire universe!" One thing was true; with the Rangers now involved, their troubles were now doubled, causing more strife amongst the crew. "Sir, I believe it's by time we start taking over this planet. Odius has taken too long to play around with her new human friends."

Odius. Galvanax just wanted to go down on the unknown planet to strangle her. She takes too long to produce any results that were worth his time, and now, it was one of those times where he had to take action by himself. For too long, she had delved into forming some alliance with a bunch of like-minded humans who claimed to have wanted to join him in the fight against the Huntresses and Huntsmen. With the Rangers included in the roster of enemies to worry about, the problems were stacking up against Galaxy Warriors far greater than before.

Galvanax needed to do something with his advisor and he had to do it fast. His ratings were on the line, dangling on a knife's edge. If Odius was taking her sweet time collaborating with some fleshlings without his consent, then he was going to deal with her before things would get out of hand; not that they were being muffled in disaster anyway.

How could Madame Odius expect to gain his trust if he wasn't being acquainted with these humans himself? If she was unwilling to expose him to them, then they were not worth his effort. He reached for his throne room, sitting on his grand chair while Ripcon went to get the communications ready to contact the soothsayer.

The screen in front of Galvanax displayed the text, letting him know that the call was already on the way. He impatiently tapped his foot on the ground, foot going up and down on the metallic surface. To those below him, their champion's foot constantly stepping on the ground every second sounded quite rough. It felt more like stomping than mere tapping; the force of each time his foot tramped the floor.

Finally, the screen came on, featuring a live call with the witch at the other end of the line. Her mask, ever so deviously grinning, stared right at the champion with her hands hidden within the large sleeves of her robe. She bowed humbly at the presence of Galvanax in her sights.

" _Galvanax, sir. How relieved I am to see you on the comm!_ " The soothsayer let herself be welcomed within the conversation. Unfortunately, the champion grew very impatient with the delays she had imposed upon the game show. The power he craved had to be in his hands before the Power Rangers and their potential allies would gain the upper hand and defeat him yet again. He could just punch the screen, as if trying to reach out for Odius herself.

"What is taking you so long, Madame Odius?" he urged. "I am starting to lose patience with you, and so is the crowd. So, you better have a good explanation."

" _Unfortunately, I am forced to take precautions over our matters here on this planet. With that meddlesome Red Ranger running around making friends with these Huntresses, then who knows where and what the other Rangers are up to. I need to know where they are before I can have you down here_." Ergh, the Red Ranger… Among all the nosy brats he had to deal with, he was the most annoying of the team. There was so much he wanted to do to punish him for treason at the worst expense, especially since said betrayal led to his worst streak of defeats.

"I am not a very happy gladiator, Odius." warned Galvanax. "You have delayed our greatest mission for far too long. The Rangers are gaining momentum and we are sitting here doing nothing!" If Galvanax wasn't yelling like a grumpy old monster, he could have heard Ripcon scoffing at him. He had every reason to be offended by Galvanax saying that he wasn't doing anything. He worked up his butt and nearly got obliterated by the Red Ranger and his new ally back down on the planet. It was like he was being underappreciated or ignored by his boss. He had no such luck on Earth either, and when things got much more anticipating here in this unknown world, there was no change in the lack of respect. Still, there was no point lashing out against him. Who would want to argue with Galvanax anyway?

" _Rest assured, Galvanax. I have Kudabots sneaking around the city as we speak, planning out the next phase of our plan to let chaos reign. Just as long as we don't broadcast their appearances in the city for now, we shall locate the other Rangers soon enough._ "

Galvanax honestly didn't want to bother continuing Madame Odius' plans for a proper build-up of disarray and weakening of the new enemy. He had no idea how powerful these Huntresses and Huntsmen really were, and if Madame Odius kept on pushing him back to his seat, then he was going nowhere to knowing how exactly he could deal with these wretched humans. Plus, again, the Rangers were doing no better to soften his stress. It's like the enemy was already tons of steps ahead and all the Galaxy Warriors was all the way back at square one. Without a solid step against them, his plans were jeopardized.

However, if the Huntsmen were so powerful, then he couldn't afford to risk his reputation, in case he was going to be threatened by these warriors. After all, Madame Odius did warn him that he wasn't strong enough to take on the Power Rangers, now that they had the Power Stars he so desired, in their possession. These humans didn't need Power Stars, or any other powers to prove themselves.

If Galvanax wanted the power of Aura, then he had to play it patiently and, unfortunately, let Madame Odius take charge and resume her efforts in drowning in her delusional alliance with some other humans. Humans that he had to meet if he was to be convinced of their importance. He would have to step up and act to find time with them, or he was not going to progress any further.

"Very well." acknowledged the champion, forced to let the whole thing fly. However, he was going to do something about Odius if she took another moment too long. "But one more delay, and I shall deal with you, personally." He pointed his finger at the soothsayer, deadly stare and all.

"As you command, great Galvanax." Odius got the message, responding with a humble bow before the screen finally went off.

* * *

 _Vale,_

 _Vale,_

 _Remnant,_

 _ **~WEISS POV~**_

I had no time talking to this stranger, who I had little pleasure of getting to know. It wasn't because he was terrible or anything. I thought he was noble for at least doing something about these strange creatures crawling around Vale. Still, there was something he had to do with these 'Kudabots', in which he called them.

Perhaps the reason why I'm still unwilling to talk to him was probably the fact that he knew something about these things that I didn't. I wanted answers from him, but it seemed every time I tried, these monsters came out of nowhere to hunt us down.

So, right now, we were on our way to wherever these things were hiding and put a stop to it, once and for all. We ran around the city, looking high and low for more of those disgusting things, and wherever they might be plotting their next scheme. All the while, I was taking it to the streets, through those revolting alleyways and tiring walks across the road. Meanwhile, my new 'partner' was jumping across from rooftop to rooftop. Like, what was the point? Why did he have to be some acrobat, leaping from one building to the next? Were all people like him this hyperactive?

All I knew was that this guy had some connection to the creatures, and for better or worse, I had to follow along and see what he knew.

Eventually, upon reaching the site of a shop that was blown down to the ground by the Grimm attacks earlier, we saw what appeared to be the same goons that attacked us earlier. The blue armour and the hideous looking faces; those were the signs that had me recognizing those ugly things. My associate landed next to me, catching the same sight as I did. We both hid behind the wall of another building. This kid, Preston, was peeping over to get a closer look at what they were doing. As much as I wanted to look as well, I couldn't afford to get my delicate hair from hindering my head down. Even if I cared for it, it was a dead giveaway. So, I decided to let Preston deal with the spying business while I watched around for any other goon.

"There's some Kudabots over there." Preston reported. I had to make a tsk from my teeth. Did he really have to state the obvious? It sounded pretty much habitual, judging by how naïve and kid-like he sounded.

"Yeah, no kidding, genius." I groaned.

"Looks like they're heading for that old warehouse." Preston could see the Kudabots move away from the site. I recalled seeing a warehouse close to where we were, after my previous walk earlier today. "We better make our move." Afterwards, we decided to rush behind the monstrous creatures, sneaking out in a slow but steady pace.

After tailing the Kudabots, we finally reached the guarded warehouse. It was built within a concrete frame of walls that protected it from intruders. However, once we arrived, I noticed something very odd. After the Grimm attacks, all of Vale knew that some low-lives, who worked for Torchwick, were involved in the incident, especially since some Huntsmen were able to herd them up from the lair we infiltrated at Mount Glenn. Due to the fact, security had to be fully revamped to protect key areas within the city, in case a bigger plot would come.

This would mean guards at every side of the walls and probably some more within the building's outer areas. However, as I looked around the vicinity, there wasn't a single guard in sight. Not even in the guard post that was stationed at the entranceway. Everything was empty. Oddly enough, an armoured vehicle was parked right outside where we then hid behind, but there was no crew; just an empty, unguarded area.

That's where I knew; something was indeed going on inside. There was no time to lose. Once we ran more until the wall that blocked us out, I looked up to see that the warehouse itself was right over it. I stood out to check the distance, seeing that it a few metres too tall for me to climb over.

No problem. Myrtenaster would help me with it. I unsheathed my weapon from my belt and prepared a little trick to get me over the wall and onto the building's roof. Working with my inner Aura, I swiped down my blade with my two fingers before I pointed my blade to the ground and summoned the circle of power. After building up enough Aura to my legs, I made one huge leap onto the roof and landed safely above.

After breathing out from that, I looked down to see if my partner was ready to make his own jump. Apparently, he looked somewhat ecstatic to have witnessed my abilities once again. Finally, I managed to get some attention from an equally powerful person.

"Wow… What magic…" I could hear him mutter with awe. However, I didn't really find the comment that gratifying.

"It's not just **any** magic." I cleared it to him. I seriously didn't know why he would be so impressed given that they were tons of people with similar abilities out there, including himself. "Which end of Remnant did you come from?" And then, he came up with what was probably the most dumbfounding question I had ever heard.

"Remnant? Is that what they call this world?"

"You're kidding me, right?" I had to scoff. There was no way anyone would ever not know of his or her own world, unless they were either isolated from proper education, or if they were suffering from amnesia. "You don't know the name of your own home world?!"

"Actually, I… uh…" Just then, I heard some loud machination going on inside the warehouse. Some clanking noises and steaming noises echoing from underneath my feet. They had to be something in there, and I was here, stalled by some idiotic questions.

"Hush!" I shushed with my finger to my lips. "Something's going on." I looked down again and still saw Preston staying down there like a lost deer. "Get over here!" I swung my arm up to my shoulder, rushing him to come up and accompany me to find out what his little friends were working on.

He complied to my demand and jumped right up with his own two feet and reached the roof, without using any of his own Semblance, or whatever he used to become that dorky suit-wearing warrior that somehow raised my eyebrows. When he was on the roof with me, we both quietly snuck towards the ceiling windows that allowed us to look into the building's interior. We crawled at the very end of the window to avoid detection from the many Kudabots down below.

As far as we could see, the creatures were walking around, carrying boxes and other supplies here and there, like regular people do in a facility like this.

"What are they doing?" Once Preston asked that question, I looked around for whatever they were doing in there. That's when I found this large machine right in the centre of the warehouse. This large contraption looked more like an outdated car engine, with its many pipes smoking out fumes, and gears rotating outside the machine instead of being inside it. What really stuck out from this odd invention was the large metallic dome that resembled a weird light bulb, as lights flickered on and off within it.

"Must be engineering some kind of machine or something." I deduced. "Whatever it is, it can't be good." Suddenly, after looking around a little more, I saw a rather revolting sight that really crept me out. It was this ugly, mutant-like creature that walked on its two feet, stomping about while shouting out some words to the Kudabots. "And what is that?!"

It was an abomination of epic proportions. This thing had a disc-shaped body for its upper torso, flat and disproportioned at all angles. I couldn't see it clearly, but I could make out gears being built into its metallic shell. The middle gear, after looking even closer, had two glaring red eyes, shining towards the minions like a menacing Grimm. I could tell that was its face. Its limbs, arms and legs, were sported with abnormal, spiky golden armour pads, and silver feet. **(A/N~ Clock Shadow from the ToQger VS Kyoryuger movie).**

"It must be one of the leading goons." assumed Preston, adding up to his knowledge of these freakish monsters. I looked at him to ask him more about these things, but he went ahead and interrupted me. "Yep, for every squad of Kudabots, there's always a monster to lead them."

"We better report to Headmaster Ozpin about this." I decided to take this to the official authorities, and who better to handle the problem than Professor Ozpin himself. We were told to report him if anything was to happen that could potentially threaten the safety of the city, after all. No actions to resolve the crisis myself, otherwise I would have to go through another unpleasant round with Professor Goodwitch over the unintentional insubordination I had to endure.

"Headmaster?" Then, Preston came out of nowhere and, once again, sounded clueless to how we deal with situations like this. "Why do we need to go to a school to handle such a matter?"

"Not just any school, you dimwit!" I raised an alarming rant to remind him of the obvious. Why should anyone forget the significance of one of the most powerful and prestigious Huntsmen academies out there. I gasped in disbelief when I heard that he hadn't even a clue about the wonders that Beacon Academy had to offer. "You've never heard of Beacon Academy? The most important structure of all of Remnant? And Professor Ozpin. One of the leading Huntsmen who deals with problems like this?!"

"Um…" I couldn't understand why was it so hard for Preston to even grasp the idea of how Remnant and Huntsmen like me work. All of this was common knowledge. No one should be so vague as to how important we were when it came to fighting threats that harm our every way of life. We shouldn't forget what we fight for, and the people who can't protect themselves should always call upon us whenever there is strife.

Unfortunately, this boy couldn't get anything I told him. He wasn't getting any sense out of the whole situation of the Grimm and the role of Huntsmen and Huntresses to preserve peace within Remnant. It can't be that difficult to know something that would save your life every day, can it?

Unless…

Was he for real? Could he actually be telling me that…? No way… He was actually telling me the truth? It was starting to make some oddly new sense. I had never seen these creatures before, but Preston had. If these things were nothing Remnant had ever seen, then was it really true? I hated to think of such impossible odds, but somehow, I had that tingling feeling that I was being left in the dark.

"Let me get this straight." I had to clear things up, making sure if Preston was legitimately from another world. "Are you actually saying that you're not from Remnant at all? You're seriously not trying to pull my leg?"

"Why would I?" His instant response said it all. He told me so quickly, that it might actually hold some validity in his case. It looked like he was insistent on telling me that he was indeed from out of Remnant itself, but that didn't really mean he was. "Okay. I know it's hard to swallow, but hear me out. I'm actually from another dimension."

"That's impossible!" I argued, still refusing to accept the possibilities of such dangerous travels through out of the planet. "Everyone knows that humans can't travel to space! Who has the kind of technology to do that?"

"Apparently, **we** do." Preston argued back. "Sheesh, this really is a strange place to be in if you guys can't even use all of these fancy technology to travel into space." With good reason, I must add, because every time we tried, all of our efforts were merely for naught. Dust simply can't travel through the vast open space out there, so we were unfortunately out of luck. Yet, somehow, someway, Preston told me he was able to travel from another dimension to end up here.

I didn't believe it. I wanted to defy his logic, but there was too much creeped out weirdness happening around, that it might had actually sounded like, indeed, he was telling the truth.

"And those monsters? Those 'Kudabots' and the freakishly revolting monsters. I suppose they're from wherever you came from?" I had to find more rightness to this tale, asking him more questions to connect the dots with these abnormal creatures.

"Unfortunately, yes." he sighed. "They're a bunch of violent space gladiators who compete in a game show to see who can rule the universe. And since they're here, they're going to try and take over this world as well."

At that point, I was flabbergasted to the point of silencing myself for a whole. He then went up and said to me, that all of this… The ugly monsters, the brutal fights and the danger of destroying our world… It was all for a game show?! I couldn't believe it all… one bit.

"Okay. I'm officially zoned out here." I shook my head, having a major migraine from the plot of this weird occurrence of events that just didn't seem to make sense. "Humans from another dimension? Space travel? Aliens who just fight for some wacky game show?!" I was so confused, I wanted to vent out my frustration and scratch my head to pull out all my neatly combed white hair out. My brain was so scrambled of all the details I'd been given, that it was more than I could bear. I knew things got weird at many points in my life, but this, when all of Remnant's logics were defied, and everything just came crashing into make things worse, I just couldn't stand the confusion of it all. Even if I was always told to maintain my patience, I just had to let it all loose, shouting out to express my impatience.

"Ugh! Can someone have any sense of all of this?!"

"SHHH!"

Perhaps, that went a little too loud…

"Who goes there?!" The large monster yelled from below, muffled by the glass window in between the two of us and the creeps below. I had never been such an idiot in my life. The one thing I had to do when sneaking upon an enemy, and I blew it up. Gosh, I must had felt like Ruby every time she did it herself. A complete idiot…

"Oh no." I yelped, holding up a hand to my lips in frantic fright. Then, all of a sudden, I felt a strong tug on my right arm before being pulled off the roof by Preston, as we began to escape the clutches of the monsters in the warehouse. As unsatisfied as I was about the sudden pull of my arm, the fact that we had to leave as soon as we could, left me with no other choice but to scatter before we were in deep trouble.

"Jump!" The instant we both ended up at the edge, we made one huge leap down to the road. I landed gracefully on my two feet, crouched to the ground, while Preston rolled to the front upon landing. "Let's get out of here!" We dashed our way from the warehouse walls and back into the open street to escape whatever monstrosity was going to chase us.

"Kudabots! Seize them!" I could hear that monster shouting out to pursue us, so we kept running, unsure if we'll ever stand a chance against those creeps.

Eventually, we were already running across the road and into another alleyway, having sprinted for a good minute to shake off our pursuers. The cross-junction was fortunately empty, so we took a moment to finally catch our breaths. I couldn't imagine running away from danger like this. After all that Father had taught me, I could not prepare myself for this new threat, for my skills as a Huntress had always been toned on fighting Grimm, and although I could take on those blue creatures, I was still clueless as to how to fight a large mutant-like monster that looked like some failed invention.

"I think we lost them." Preston was just as tired as I was. All I had to rely on was the presence of some kid who was just as mysterious. I had never prepared myself for the unrealistic truth that was inter-dimensional travel, as in from one world to another. Like, how was that even possible? No one in Remnant had ever achieved the feat of going into space, ever. Then, all of a sudden, some aliens and this boy just appeared out of nowhere, apparently from some other universe. Frustration was still making me boil with anxiety and a never-ending rise of questions in my head.

"Okay! This is really creeping me out!" I grabbed my head again, still extremely freaked out by how much weirdness was going on. I really felt like pulling out my hair like a wig, stuck to my head for all my life; just all of it! "First, I had the unfortunate pleasure of meeting some magician who apparently doesn't know his way around, then I get these aliens who are actually competing for some stupid game show?! Just tell me if I'm not insane!"

* * *

 _ **~PRESTON'S POV~**_

"Calm down!" I yelled, though not too loud because we were still on the run. Weiss shouted out her frustration after I told her the whole reason why I, and Galvanax, too, were here on this weird planet. All the things she told me were just as strange. Everywhere I looked, I would think that the people here would be more advanced than those on Earth. But then, I was given the fact that no one had ever even make it out to that fractured moon up in orbit. I couldn't believe the irony of it all.

Yet, I felt for Weiss. She was just in the dark as I was. So far, it looked like she was not ready for the arrival of alien gladiators and all. And then, I had to expose myself and reveal my powers to her, morphing right in front of her to fight the Kudabots. I was sure she was in a rough situation as I was.

"How can I calm down when all of this… this crisis is happening?" She continued to freak out, under the pressure. I tried to be reasonable to get her to feel better and snap her back into the trouble we were getting ourselves into. We would have to worry about figuring things out later. Galvanax's monsters always knew when to keep up with the chase.

"Hey, I've seen you fight those Kudabots. At least, I can say you're more than capable." I praised her.

"But… they have a huge monster with them. Do you think we stand a chance?" Still, she relented.

"I fight goons like him all the time. He should be a piece of cake!" I knew my response was haphazard, but it was worth a try, right? "Okay, maybe I'm exaggerating, but that doesn't mean he would be too powerful. We just gotta work together to fight him, that's all." She took a deep breath, finally deciding to give up whining like some snob and apparently think about what to do next. If she took my advice, then maybe things might have went to a smooth start.

She turned her head at me, still unsure about our little crisis, but finally, I could feel the ease on her face, relaxed and calmer than before.

"You really think I can fight such a monster, huh?" I simply nodded, hearing that her voice was slowly regaining that proud tone. "So, you admit it then? That I am more skilled than you are?" Okay, maybe a little too proud…

"Ugh… Sure, whatever." I know I wasn't being sincere, but do I have time to be humble? Nope. I didn't think so. Weiss finally back on her feet and her pride intact, we both settled on finding out how to deal with the monster and the Kudabots.

"Well, you know more about these monsters than I do, so I'll give you some credit." she told me, somewhat half-heartedly. "So, how do we fight that… thing?" Such a good question, I thought. Unfortunately, I could only say one little thing, and she was not going to like it.

"Honestly, I don't know."

* * *

 _ **~WEISS' POV~**_

"What?!" He doesn't know?! How the heck could he even fight against these monsters then?! If he was so contentious on fighting these alien warriors, then why should he not have any idea how to handle them? "You said you've fought creatures like him!"

"They're not all the same, alright? They don't necessarily have the same weakness." he defended. "Every monster I've fought were all different from each other. Thus, my friends and I would have to think first before acting against each one." I decided to forget my ranting and focused on something that he said later that caught my attention.

"Wait?" I interjected. "Your friends? You mean there are more of you?" I had the intrigued notion of more people like him, capable of transforming into these dorky looking, but still-powerful warriors to fight these monsters. More teenagers, hopefully more tolerable ones, who could actually help tip the balance in our favour. If that was the case, then where were they now? They had to follow him, if he was going to arrive here and take on the enemy he was supposed to fight, not us.

"Yep. And they happen to be around the city, right now." I was relieved when he confirmed what I needed to hear.

"Well, can you call them or something?" I asked.

"I guess that would have to do." Well, no kidding. The sooner backup can arrive, the better. In fact, I thought I should call my teammates as well, if we weren't fed up of each other, that was. I could imagine everyone was still being very unsatisfied after the argument we had yesterday.

And that was funny, too. Yesterday, I returned to the dorm, still feeling very stressed out after the argument, coming back at night to see Yang, still in a very bad mood. I guessed she didn't get to beat up any ruffian that day. Blake was yet to return home, but I couldn't care for now, so I went to sleep. But as I approached the dorm, I noticed something quite odd. Ruby was nowhere to be found. The little runt was not in bed above mine, just an empty mattress with only an unused blanket and a pillow. I thought it was weird; I wanted to ask Yang if she had seen her. However, my instincts told me not to bother her because I knew how extremely enraged she would be if I woke her up at such an abrupt time. I didn't have the patience to wait for Blake, either. So, I went straight to bed, unable to even shower to my sleep wear and dozed off.

When the next day arrived, I was first up, and first out, leaving Yang and Blake to their slumber, and still, no Ruby to even look for. However, despite my concern, I believed she would return; she always does, unless it was for some good reason why she decided to not come back to the Academy.

She was lucky Beacon was on a momentary period of break for some of the Huntsmen after the Breach. I, myself, took the chance and just went off to relax some more, and that was where I left off. The next thing I knew, I bumped into Preston, and the rest was history.

* * *

 _ **~THIRD PERSON POV~**_

Even as plans were nowhere near formulation, the two newly met, but uneasy allies were going to do their best to combat the mutual threat of the monsters of Galvanax's contestants. One of them was sure to be on the way to eliminate them, and was even surer that he would jump out right about… now…

"Hah!" As predicted, the monster with gears on his body, had already found them, along with a new squad of Kudabots and Bashers at his sides, all primed with their rifles and spears, threatening to end the heroes for good. "You thought you could run away, Ranger?!" Preston knew exactly what was going to go down. Cornered with nowhere else to run, it was the time to be a hero again.

"It's best if we fight them." he stated.

"My sentiments, exactly." agreed Weiss, swinging her weapon out towards the enemy. Preston pulled out his Morpher and Power Star and proceeded to change into his Ranger form.

" **NINJA SPIN!** " Instantly, the Blue Ranger prepped up for battle. The two defenders of peace and justice stood forward, blades pointing right at the monster they were about to fight.

"Gear-Con, ready to rumble!" The monster punched his fists together before bending down to charge at them. The Kudabots and Bashers all readied themselves, with the ranged soldiers aiming their weapons in a line while the blade wielders held their weapons tightly with two hands each.

"Time to spring a few of your cogs loose!" warned Preston.

"Try as you might, but I've got tons of surprises, gearing up for more!" shouted back Gear-Con.

"Can we please skip the lousy puns already?" Weiss stomped her foot. She swore; these guys could give Yang a run for her money. She couldn't even bear to imagine the festival of idiotic puns she would have to endure…

"We'll skip the puns if, one, you take me out for good, or two, you could ask the writer to stop them yourself?" the monster yelled, as if referring to someone who was giving him this pun-tastic script in the first place.

"Huh?" The two heroes awkwardly wondered what he was talking about.

"Enough talk! Destruction is at hand!" Unfortunately, the fun was about to begin, and the monster made a few punches at nothing, pumping up for more. "My gears are grinding, boys! So you better make this one count!" The abnormal squad of monstrous creatures prepared to make their move. In the typical style of fighting, the big monster would stay behind and let the horde of goons do their stuff. The Bashers rolled out, taking the lead, while the Kudabots inched forward and took aim at the two.

"I'll take the Kudabots." stated Preston. "You go for the Bashers." Weiss didn't need to ask which were the bozos she had to take out. With such an obvious name of 'Basher', it wouldn't take long to figure out what they would do. Going ahead with Preston's suggestion, she charged up first to deal with the club-wielding drones, and give Preston time and space to charge forth and attack the riflemen. Once the stage was clear, they would both go for the big guy last.

Weiss skied forward with her Myrtenaster, summoning a glowing circle of white light to give her a smooth and swift boost to confront the Bashers. When one Basher swung its blade down, Weiss immediately moved to intercept, clashing her blade with the other. However, the force of the Basher's swing was so intense, that she was nearly knocked off her balance, forcing her to slide away before another Basher would take her down.

After her quick save, Weiss breathed out, relieved that she had acted fast enough. It was a good thing she kept her focus on her grip, expecting the weight of the weapon to knock her off. It was a risk, taking the blade on, but was always ready to dash out and skid away before she'd get struck again. It was almost fortunate that she remembered that little incident in class with the Boarbatusk that was brought in by Professor Port many months ago, or she'd be living down the same mistake she did back then.

She then resumed her offensive, with the strength of the enemy's weapons calculated, and proceeded to rely on her speed and grace to make quick shots at the humanoid aliens. The large, overgrown blades would make the Bashers completely clumsy and slow with their attacks. Thus, Weiss would have to strike at the precise moment, by allowing the Bashers to throw their weight down and swing their blades around.

One of the Bashers, the same one earlier, made the move again, rushing forth with its weapon swung down again. This time, however, she noticed another Basher coming in for a joint attack. They both raised their weapons simultaneously, predictably going forth at the same time. Weiss quickly moved out of the way and jumped out, making them both miss her. As she leapt, she slashed Myrtenaster at another unsuspecting Basher, running the extremely thin blade right through the alien's stomach and knocking it out. Immediately, she dashed away and attacked the two Bashers that missed her, cutting through them with relative ease. Three down, four to go.

Meanwhile, with Weiss keeping the Bashers at bay, Preston charged right for the Kudabots. Just as he got them in his sights, they lined up their shots and fired their laser flintlocks at him. The Ranger pulled out his golden Elemental Star and locked it into his Star Blade, giving a strong spin as he ran for them.

" **Element Star! Ninja Forest Attack!** " He swung his blade down to the ground, in between himself and the Kudabots, zapping a stream of green dust into the cobblestone pavement. In a split second, the ground shook, breaking loose a bunch of thick, wavy vines that burst out like jackhammers from underneath. The vines soon, tied themselves together to form a sturdy, durable wall that shielded Preston from the laser barrage. The laser shots barely seared through the tough vegetation, preventing any damage to Preston.

The Blue Ranger then somersaulted over the vine wall and landed on the ground, just close enough to attack the Kudabots before they could reload their energy weapons. They had to result to an all-out brawl, clustering around Preston with their rifles now used for melee weapons. Preston used his Star Blade with the stealth of a ninja, launching himself with furious slices of his sword as the Kudabots clumsily fought him. He denied one strike by one of them before swiping it up and slashing down at the Kudabot as it stumbled. He then jumped to the side and spun kicked another, landing on the ground to spin the Star Blade against two more. Before he knew it, he was already able to take out nearly all of the Kudabots, leaving only three to finalize his attack.

He picked out his standard Power Star and locked it into the back of his frog-like Ninja Blaster. Aiming it at the Kudabots, he pulled the trigger and unleashed the final attack.

" **Ninja Blaster! Whiplash!** " The mouth of the frog's head opened up to reveal a long, flexible tongue-like appendage that whipped right at the Kudabots. The first one it hit, the tongue struck into the body of the Kudabot, draining the life out of the minion. It took about a few seconds before it finished up and proceeded to do the same at the others at lightning speed, blowing them all up in the process.

Weiss finished up attacking the last of the Bashers, unleashing a black encirclement of Aura that surrounded them before the radius of the circle shrunk right into through their bodies, zapping into their insides and destroying them. With the Bashers done, she then looked towards her new partner, seeing that he was able to finish off the Kudabots. The two then turned their attention towards the head honcho of the group.

"Who needs those Kudabbots anyway?!" he bellowed. "I've got my own tricks to pull off!" The monster then proved his point and charged right for the two heroes, clumsily running with the weight of his gears pushing him down. Preston was about to charge first, but Weiss interrupted his start, gliding forward to attack the beats head on.

Her blade sliced forth, nearly cutting the metallic body of the monster, before following up with a flurry of thin, clear-cut strikes that only literally scratched the surface. When those strikes failed, she had to retreat when the monster struck back with his claws. Skating away to safety, Weiss gave Preston more room to fight in. The Ranger sprinted forward with Star Blade swinging rapidly at the monster. Though more hits were successful, the armour of Gear-Con was still withstanding the full blow of each hit. Preston tried to get his kicks and punches to hit too, but that was obviously pointless, even if it was worth the try.

Still, Gear-Con bashed the Ranger, knocking him off out of the way. He then charged off to take on Weiss again. The brutish monster stopped running, though Weiss kept her guard in case he would try anything to attack her from where she was. Gear-Con then bent forward, pushing his energy throughout his body and causing the giant gears on his body to spin wildly out of control. Once charged, the alien combatant then thrust his hand outand fire a large orange shock beam that sent raging bolts of plasma and electricity straight towards Weiss. She quickly followed by summoning a glyph-powered circle that glowed brightly, protecting her from the energy beam as it crashed right in its centre. However, the power of the beam was immense, far greater than she would hope to overcome.

The beam shot right against the shield with the force of a Goliath Grimm beast, pushing the defence back so hard, Weiss could not hold on any longer. The energy shield cracked and broke off into pieces before disappearing completely, shooting through and threatening to hit her.

Weiss zoomed to the side, despite the loss of energy in her body, and let the beam explode right behind her, blowing a hole on the wall of a building. She slid around the monster just as he was charging his weapon, landing in between Gear-Con and Preston.

When the Blue Ranger caught the monster in his sights, he prepared to use another attack to try and slow him down.

" **Lock In!** " He loaded another Power Star into his sword, and gave it a strong flick of his thumb to spin it. The power emerging from the star caused his blade to burn brightly in a flaming aura. However, just as he was about to swing it towards the monster, he didn't see the Huntress standing in front of him on time. By then, he was already fully charged up. Letting go of the power would be very costly for his energy, thus, he had to unleash it with full force.

"Weiss! Get down!" The Ranger called out to Weiss, having no time to pull back and wait for the attack to happen.

"Huh?" The heiress turned her head around to see Preston swinging that flaming sword right at her direction. She panicked at the sight of the upcoming blow and almost yelled at him from a flurry of fright. "Wait, what?!" There was nothing she could to stop him; Preston was already rocking about with his weapon until the flames grew bigger and wilder.

" **Element Star! Ninja Fire Wave!** " Not once did Preston relent as he swung his sword in a powerful swipe, unleashing the flaming energy that opened up into a wave of fire, shot straight for Gear-Con… and Weiss!

"EEK!" Once again, the heiress yelped, dropping herself down to the ground just as the fire wave flew right above her back. She could feel the singing burning power of the wave heat up her hair while it barely missed her and headed for the alien.

"ARGH!" The burning wave crashed into the monster, surrounding with scorching fire that seared into his body. The intense heat was felt with swift pain and agony, right up to the gears on his head. Gear-Con wriggled around as the flames burnt across his body, desperate to fan them out with his hands.

Using this as a distraction, Preston ran over to help Weiss up. When he got her to stand from her fall, he looked at Gear-Con when the flames disappeared completely from his body. The burns were still there, causing him to stumble a bit to his feet. Once the heat has cooled off, he was already weakened and badly hurt by the attack. Still, he felt like continuing his offensive on the two pesky humans who dared defied him.

"Well! That was just rude!" He pumped up his body to charge up another attack. The two human fighters were too busy recovering; Weiss having nearly being burnt alive and Preston using up a lot of energy from that attack. Gear-Con pushed himself to turn on his gears to power up his ultimate weapon. Suddenly, the moment he started, the gears stopped working, shutting down. Puzzled, Gear-Con started again, but with no luck. Every time he huffed and puffed, the gears just didn't work. "Oh no! You overheated my mechanism! Now my gears are jammed!" He glared at the two warriors who messed up his greatest device against them. However, without his main source of power, the contestant was out of order. He stomped his foot with anger, mad that he was denied his greatest asset against his enemies.

It wasn't the end, however. If he was to get back in the game against them, he was going to have to retreat and repair himself. He vowed that the next time he would face them; they were going to be destroyed.

"This isn't over, Ranger! I'll be back to fix you straight!" And after his warning, the monster snapped his fingers and disappeared within a blinking electronic light before vanishing completely. Weiss was certainly astonished by more unheard-of abilities these aliens were able to use. She had seen such sudden teleportation before from the previous monster she faced, but it was, like everything else, still very foreign to her.

Unfortunately, aside from the bizarre, the fight was already over. The monster has escaped and the heroes have lost their chance. Now, the monster was going to alert Galvanax of their intervention in his plans and things were only going to get worse from there. Weiss stood up angrily from the shameful outcome of her battle against the monster, staring daggers into Preston.

"Are you crazy?!" she yelled.

"What? What did I do?" Preston bewilderedly stammered as he took off his helmet.

"I could have been killed by that fiery… thing you just did!" Weiss' hands were crossed together with a scowl on her face. As always, failure to achieve a victory has made her very disappointed, all thanks to a stupid mishap from the only partner she had to depend on.

"Sorry." apologized Preston. "I didn't have a choice."

"Oh, so you didn't, now?" Her pompous attitude was now getting on Preston's nerves, causing him argue back. For too long, he had to put up with her snobbish nature, and now he was beyond frustrated.

"Holding that attack in takes up a lot of strength!" His voice did surprise Weiss, but he kept on going. "I didn't even know you were in front of me as I prepared for it." An awkward silence filled the air, with the two staring rudely at each other over the lack of proper teamwork between them. They both couldn't help but fire their frustration on one another for the messy fight they had just gone into.

Weiss thought Preston was basically a clumsy fool who thought his magic spells could solve his fights, without poise or care for those around him. Preston, on the other hand, just thought she was an ungrateful, sour loudmouth who thought she was so mighty proud of herself for her abilities, that she would blame him for any failure. In other words, the two of them were in a pickle against each other than the enemy.

"Well, at least that's been taken care of." Weiss grabbed her ponytail, carefully brushing it down after the singeing burn it sustained from the fiery attack. All the while, she quietly mumbled under her breath, barely heard by Preston, who couldn't stand watching this 'little miss prissy', making a fool out of him. He watched as she checked her shining silky white hair before she brushed off the dirt she took from the fight. He had not been the most vocal of his team of Rangers, but when it came to something that riled up his blood, he knew he had to stand up for himself and correct mistakes, whether it'd be his own, or someone else's.

"Why are you so frustrated with everything I do?" groaned Preston, catching Weiss by surprise. However, she made no attempt to show it, rubbing the edges of Myrtenaster's blade with her handy towel.

"You could have warned me before you did the unthinkable." she boldly defended herself, not once looking at Preston. "Why couldn't you just say something so I could have avoided it?" Preston rolled his eyes with aggrevation of this stubborn little girl, telling him that he was basically the one in the wrong. Yes, he made a mistake, but did she have to rub lime into the wound?

"Sheesh, you really are an Ice Queen." He shook his head in disappointment.

"Hmph!" Weiss just huffed, already being used to the word so many times, even if he had never met her long enough to know of it.

"I'm starting to wonder how your friends tolerate your attitude." added Preston, finally snapping her out.

"Excuse me?" She turned her aggravation on him again, willing to preserve whatever dignity she had in her. Preston, however, did not stop. He was going to find a way to break through to Weiss, because with all her attitude and bravado, she still had some level of care for her teammates. It was there; he felt it all. He just needed to get her to confess that she was not all right with her struggles.

"Well, you have friends, don't you?" asked Preston.

"Of course, I do." insisted Weiss. Preston clearly didn't know how much she cared for her friends, and how much she valued their teamwork. Who was he to question her social skills? "I have a team of equally capable fighters who takes on threats like this all the time."

"And how do you think they feel about you constantly criticizing mistakes like mine?" Again, Weiss retorted, offended by Preston's lack of belief towards her. She was going to let him have it and show him how wrong he really was.

"I…" She had to stop, making sure to be less of a glory hog to include her teammates as well. "We know how to fight as a team. They believe in me and I believe in them." Preston could not fully believe her claims. However, there was some truth in her voice. How she just declared her feelings for her friends with such grace and passion, it was almost like speaking to a different person. Weiss was a snob, but there was a caring soul within that icy shield of hers. He just couldn't understand why she had to be reset to a full-time stubborn princess when she meets with a new face.

Now, there was no time to stall. The monster has retreated and more will be on the way to finish them off. The city of Vale was about to be in danger, and Preston had to find a way to help the people of this world handle the threat of this alien invasion.

"Anyway, I should try and contact my team leader." suggested Preston. "He should be able to come to the city as soon as possible."

"I hope he's better at listening than Ruby." Weiss just sighed, but her voice had just been caught by Preston.

"What?" He prompted her to repeat what she just said about someone named Ruby. By comparing this person to Brody, it sounded like Weiss had some team leader of her own. As he looked at her face, she was probably on the fence about how to explain about her to himself.

"It's just… Our team leader." she spoke, unsure if she should even bother talking about. She did, however, feel obliged to let him understand about how she felt. Perhaps after telling him more about Ruby's apparent incompetence, he could know her better, and probably help him realize why she fought the way she did. "She is… What's the word? Delusional."

"How so?" Preston asked again, now clearly intrigued by Weiss' description.

"She thinks it is fine that we go out of our way and do things without the approval of our superiors." she finally said with compassion. She remembered the times she had to deal with the immature leader, always forced to follow along with what she believed was the right course of action. They'd have to jump the gun and break certain protocols of engagement, and despite the encouragement of Professor Ozpin, they had failed to secure the win and left Vale vulnerable to attack by the creatures of Grimm. Things would have been much smoother if Ruby hadn't been such a hothead and planned out her battles before they could ever move out to finish the job. It was all precision and dignity towards others that win battles, not rushing in like some mad rabbit.

"And now these alien friends of yours started showing up around the city, and she thought it was the brilliant plan to just jump right in and deal with a monster in the forest without anyone's permission. If you ask me, she needs to have her act together." The frustration came out clear and straightforward. Weiss had just about enough of Ruby's antics and putting her own interests to make the team be the pinnacle of greatness. She couldn't take the pressure of pulling herself and the others into her schemes any longer, and that was why she had to lash out and set her straight.

"And you suppose she isn't right?" Then, all of a sudden, Preston voiced out to stop her from saying further. "I mean, she is pretty much aware this is all going on, and you just straight up refuse to believe her?" He himself had heard it all. Weiss was simply letting simple rules keep her from doing the necessary need to fight and save lives. He didn't believe that everything had to be played with rules. He didn't let any restriction get in his way, studying in the arts of magic to prove to the world that nothing is ever about following the rules.

"I believe her! I saw one of those abominations up close before!" Weiss still relented. "It's just… She jumps to conclusions. She thinks it's all a big game, so she could prove to the world that we are some great heroes. It's never supposed to be about fun and games." She eventually decided to look away from Preston, crossing her arms together as she breathed heavily from her argument with him.

The Ranger didn't really know how to put up with Weiss. She had been so full of herself, that she had been saying the exact same thing she said about her own team leader. Weiss was not aware of it, he thought, but he was sure she was putting **her** own etiquettes ahead of the team, by forcing them to follow whatever rules were set upon them.

There was no way that she would be so self-centred on making her teammates go through such downplaying routine, discouraging them from doing what had to be done to save this world.

"Seriously, is talking down on others the best you can do?" he said again, ticking Weiss off.

"I beg your pardon!" she sneered at him with the usual cold eyes. Preston would not be toiled by such deadly gaze. He knew what it was like to have a wild leader on his team, and she was about to hear it from about how he viewed such leadership.

"Whether she's younger or not, she's still your team leader. She knows the greater threat and she is doing all she can to make sure the threat is gone, right? I'm not sure how she became your leader to last this long, but there has to be a good reason, right?" And now, Weiss began to stammer, somehow shaken by Preston's defence of a girl he had not even met.

"Well, the way she does it is just too much. We have been given orders to stand down, and she just decides to run off and disobey them."

"Still, isn't it the right thing to protect the people you value? Even if rules are bent?" Weiss silenced herself again. Something about bending the rules did remind her of what was exactly done before, and it gave her the right motivation to keep things in check. This time, her pride couldn't help her, only true compassion for doing the right thing.

"Bending the rules." she solemnly sighed. "Yes, that was exactly what we did, and we got briefly suspended for it." She faced Preston again, letting him see the sincerest he had seen of her ever since they met. "Even if she's the team leader, she has to learn control, or she will continue to drag us down further." Weiss felt her need to be proud and strong at the face of her acquaintance diminish as she started to feel hurt by what had happened to her and her team after the Breach. Despite the successful defence of the city, the fact that they could have done more and better to stop the tragedy from happening has made her think of the shame and degradation of her team's performance and reputation after they had been suspended by the school.

It didn't seem fair. Everything they could have done to protect the city and stop the White Fang from destroying it, and they had to keep them down in their dorms for a good amount of time. It was not the way she wanted things to go, and all of a sudden, Ruby had to make things more complicated by jeopardizing their status in Beacon. She had every right to defend the team from being desecrated by mad delusions of grandeur.

In honesty, however, she did want Ruby to be a better leader. The way she went with it was what ticked her off, no matter how many times she had done it. Preston understood this very well, reminding himself about how much Brody encouraged him and his friends to think out of the box. That meant breaking out of their comfort zone and finding new ways to accomplish their fights. He felt that maybe Weiss needed to be reminded about the idea of trying to get out of that area of safety and order to set her free to improve on her successes in battle.

"I understand." He took it upon himself to stand next to her to finally settle their differences. "Rules are important. But there is such a thing as too much control." If having a business-obsessed dad taught him anything, it's to always cherish on what you have and love, and never let anyone take them away from you. In Weiss' case, maybe it was about saving the world and its people. Nothing should hold you back on doing a hero's job. "And if your team leader knows what's at stake, you should follow her. Rules or no rules."

Weiss, for the first time in a while, started to listen. After her confession of her problems, she was now open to hear out what Preston had to say, despite her pride.

"At least go along with her and see if she's really not messing around. I should know 'cos I have a team leader, too. He's actually done some bold moves of his own, and we still believe he's an excellent leader. He's not afraid to act up and fight like a hero, to save those in need." Then he moved to another question to get through to Weiss to further connect the dots.

"Isn't there anything in Ruby's case that made sense?" Weiss finally nodded in understanding, accepting that her leader did indeed have the intention on saving the land.

"I suppose she does." she humbly conceded.

"Then give her a chance." Preston recommended his course of action to her. "Not everyone can tell you what you have to do or what you shouldn't do. All it takes is to have a heart and think about what is right."

Not what is good; not what is bad. But what is **right** … That made a whole lot of sense for Weiss. Throughout her whole life, she had been taught that being a Huntress meant following the basic rules set for any fighter to become a well-shaped warrior. However, over time, she began to realize that everything she was expected to follow was not all to her liking. yet, after tolerating with the differences of many, she managed to become a greater student, whether she liked it or not. Her way by following regulations had only cemented more of her desire to get whatever she wanted, sure that her path of obedience and need for glory through that dignity would make her far better than most.

Instead, it only made her a bigger mess that she originally never thought of. It was exactly as Professor Port told her;

" _Instead of fretting over what you don't have, savour what you do. Hone your skills, perfect every technique. And be not the best leader, but be the best person you can be._ "

To her, Ruby was not the best leader, and she didn't have what she did. Yet, with all of her downsides, she was still a capable fighter, as much as Weiss hated to admit it. Ruby was not perfect, but she was still able to pull of many things even she couldn't do. Ruby had pushed her this far and it has, admittedly, made her feel stronger.

"I can't believe I have to say this." she confessed, willing to snap off her pride once more to think about what she had learnt from being part of a dysfunctional, but well-intentioned team. "But, you're right. I think what you said was… valid. My team leader is a major nut, but… she does get the job done every once in a while."

"Maybe I've been… difficult." The same excuse she had to give Ruby when she once opened up to her, but what he didn't know wouldn't kill him, she supposed. "I guess I was too full of myself, thinking I was to be the perfect fighter. In the end, I was not giving her a chance." Weiss finally understood the whole picture now. She had let her pride overshadow her judgement and saw Ruby as nothing more than a mere pest, when in reality, she was a leader who acted upon righteousness and courage.

"I can't believe I let myself get all arrogant again." Regret came swift, making her vulnerable to pained emotions. "I keep telling myself I'd change, just so I could please them my way." She then slumped down to the ground, ignoring the dirt and filth of the alleys to rethink of her actions as of today. "What a waste of effort."

Preston saw the girl finally break down for the truth. She had let her heart, not her mouth, do the talking. He was actually sure that she would continue to become a selfish brat, but deep within that exterior, is a woman with flaws and some respect for those around her. Maybe that was why she tolerated him thus far. Otherwise, he'd been forced to leave the moment they started to know of each other's talents.

Satisfied of her resolve, he joined her down on the ground, also tired from his battle, to give Weiss some comfort.

"Maybe it wasn't ever a waste." he told her. "Like you said, you've tolerated them before. Why stop now?" Weiss looked at him with some hesitance, but after she did, she gave the first real smile after so long, thankful that he still had faith in her. She always wondered how bad things always happen to make her feel humbler than before.

Now, she could see Preston not as some lousy bum who was constantly making mistakes, but someone who just fights differently. If anything, it was her who had to learn how to work with the differences and give them a chance to prove themselves. Maybe then, she wouldn't be losing the fight in the first place.

More importantly, though, to be reminded once more that she was wrong, made her feel a little bad about having to deny Ruby her own chance to help. She had to do something to bring the team back together once they were done with their predicament.

"Once we're done with this, I'm going to have to explain myself to the team." she declared.

"They'll understand." assured Preston. The wall between them now torn down, they began to finally understand each other in a new light. Putting their grudges aside, they have now become more acceptant towards the other.

"You're right. They always have." Weiss nodded. Preston decided to play along with the change of heart in her by being a little cheeky.

"So, can I get a…?"

"Ugh!" Back to her old grumpy self, Weiss threw a ridiculed look and spat back. "Thank you! There. You happy?"

"Good enough." chuckled Preston. Eventually, Weiss took no more offense from his little joke, willing to let him go, just this once. Now that the two had stopped bickering, they had to focus on what was going to happen next with their encounter with the monster.

"Now, what shall we do about that monster?" wondered Weiss.

"I'm pretty sure he'll be able to move his little machine out of that warehouse." implied Preston, defeated that his chance of destroying whatever contraption was used back there, being slipped away. "We need to search out for any signs of him, and take him down from there."

"Okay. So, we know that the monster can't attack when the main gear isn't functioning. That means we've got to hit it until it jams again." reminded Weiss. "No problem. I can freeze his legs and trap him, while you take the shot." She snapped her fingers, once again playing arrogant to lighten up the mood.

"Sounds like a plan." agreed Preston. "But let's also worry about the Bashers and Kudabots. They'll make the job a lot harder."

"Again, we'll take 'em on like we've always done." Weiss grinned. This sounded like a plan finally coming together nicely.

"Now, you're starting to sound like a team player." joked Preston.

"I'm not always a snob." Head up high, Weiss remained proud as ever, but her attempt to brag about her dignity was about to be shattered.

"So, you actually admit that you are a snob?" The Ranger snuck a little grin, hoping to make sure Weiss didn't get too proud.

"Wha-?! I…!" Weiss nearly lost it, reminding herself to remain calm, just as promised to herself. "Hmph!" She crossed her arms again, offended by the comeback. Preston shook his head gently before getting them back to the here and now.

"Come on, let's deal with that monster, take the fight to him, and make sure your city's safe." he said.

"Right." Weiss released her arms, forgetting the little insult and prepared to assist the boy through the streets. The two walked out of the alley, ready to look around and continue with the new mission to search for the troublemakers. The city was under the threat of being attacked by foreign forces that no one in Weiss' world who could have comprehended how to fight them. The only person she had to rely on was one of the only people, apparently brought to this world, who knew these dark forces very well, and he would help her all the way. She already told herself not so long ago that she would be the best person she can be, and that all started by listening to those around her. She was not going to back down on that promise.

Suddenly, on their way to business, Weiss snickered quietly. She hoped Preston didn't hear it, but the boy was perky enough to catch her doing so.

"What?" asked a confused Preston. She turned to him with an amused little grin and shrugged her shoulders to tell him what was on her mind.

"I guess you can say we're going to 'shift our **gears** '?" Not much of a reaction from Preston, which was probably yet another blow of defeat for the Huntress. "Oh, come on! I can't even please a goofball."

"Excuse me?" Just when another argument was about to burst, Weiss quickly stopped herself from going on.

"Never mind! Let's just focus on our mission."

"We're going to need to search for another Kudabot." said Preston, letting go of what she had just said. "If it was that easy to find one, then maybe we can have a good chance."

"Right." remarked Weiss. "As if those things couldn't be any dumber…" And so, the two moved on, not going to make things complicated again. However, if Preston had to admit, it was worth trying to appease his humour. Not willing to leave them with any sour taste, he called her.

"Weiss."

"Mmm?" Weiss turned her head to him again.

"For the record, you did your best with that joke. It's just… well…"

"Poor timing?" Weiss interjected, knowing full well of what he was about to say from past experience. "I get it." And with that, the two were once again on tolerable grounds, walking off to search for the leads they needed to find Gear-Con and put an end to whatever Galvanax was planning to do.

* * *

 _Elsewhere_

During the whole chaos with Gear-Con, Weiss and Preston were unaware that something else was happening behind the scenes. While they were out fighting the monster, Odious had already warned Cinder of Preston's, and the rest of the Rangers for that matter, involvement in the fight against Galvanax. She felt that something was needed to distract them from her own schemes, sending her two henchmen to find that distraction.

The two had quietly walked through the streets of Vale, heading for the one place where they would find the men for the job. Into the dark alleys of the city, once again, the shadowy forces conspire together to build upon their next great scheme. Mercury and Emerald reach for another old warehouse, far off in the south-east corner of the city, where it was once the headquarters they would frequently travel to in the past.

As expected, they came into the building to find that some men were inside, lazing about throughout the room, doing nothing. They all wore black jackets over their red buttoned shirts, with red shades and black fedoras put on to give off that bravado bunch of mobsters. Mercury and Emerald predicted just as much that the remnants of Torchwick were left sitting around, waiting for the chance for their boss to be broken out of prison. Now, they were just fresh fish, just right for the picking.

They approached one of them, who was leaning against the empty metal racks, just noticing the two teenagers coming in. With a defensive growl, the man got up from his spot to meet them.

"What do you want?" he asked with coldness.

"Cinder's got a little assignment for you boys." stated Mercury, plain and simple. "I'm sure you'll love to hear it."

"In case you haven't noticed, Black, that without the boss, we're pretty much out of order." the man spat back, clearly not wanting to do anything without his boss. However, Emerald came forth, looking like she was about to choke the man to death. He was certainly frightened by the move, moving his hands forward to shield him from any harm he was going to get.

"You're **not** out of order until Cinder says so." warned Emerald. "Do we really have to remind you about what happens to you when don't listen to her?" The man didn't speak for a few seconds, too lost to do anything without Torchwick's commands. Yes, these two were technically in charge, thanks to Roman's own involvement with Cinder Fall. But the men were loyal to the man, and thus, the right-hand woman who pranced around in her little umbrella, silently watching over the remains of his criminal force. Without him, they were still broken, vulnerable to be handed over to the authorities, to be locked up without any chance of freedom.

There was no other choice but to allow these brats to take over the reins, or at least, have Neo listen in to what they had in mind.

"Fine." He kicked the dust-filled floor, sending off a small cloud of dust to been blown off to the side. Anything was better than a prison cell, he supposed. "What do you need?"

"We need your other boss." told Emerald.

"Sorry, lass." He shook his head, with regret. "But Miss Neopolitan has other businesses to take care of and she doesn't want **anyone** to disturb her right now."

"Well, you tell her that Cinder is not going to take 'no' for an answer." reminded Mercury, pointing his finger at the man.

"What do you want her to do?" asked the man again. This time, Mercury and Emerald looked at each other with smug grins, giving the men all sorts of creeped out vibes.

"We want Neo to work with some new friends of ours." informed Emerald.

"What new friends?" As the man questioned, the two hunters turned away from each other, leaving a wide open entrance for some said new friends to arrive on the scene to make their acquaintances. To the mobsters' horror, when the company arrived and revealed themselves from the shadows, they were greeted by some of the most hideous faces they had ever seen in their entire wretched lives.

Before them was a rambunctious group of monstrous beings; blue soldiers swarming around another larger monster, who had a large run stuck through her head. Said head, along with her shoulders and ringed knees, were fitted with a gleaming purple jewel stuck onto them. The two thighs were wrapped by a pair of giant, ugly claws, and her wrists were attached with two golden rings with crystals of the same gems found on her body ( **Ring Shadow from ToqGer** ) She came in with a feminine pose, greeting the humans like they were part of a blind date.

"Hello, gorgeous!" She came in, flaming her voice out with a French accent, flamboyant and mischievous in its tone.

"What the heck?!" The mobsters all cowered by the sight of these hideous creatures being introduced to them, like they were going to be partners in some new business venture. They didn't know what to do with these sickening monsters, wondering if this was an actual alliance that they were forced to enter. Unfortunately for them, that was exactly what was going on.

"Have fun." Emerald waved her fingers in a mocking gesture before taking Mercury with her as they exited the warehouse, leaving them in the hands of Odious' minions.

"But… but…" The man tried to relent, wanting to escape this horrid reality. No response from the hunters, getting further and further away from them. The man then saw the monster coming closer to him. He felt like the Grimm were coming after them, approaching very precariously at his direction with dark intent.

"Now then! Let us get to business!" The aliens then came right in, giving the men much to fear from this turn of events. Meanwhile, Emerald and Mercury were already long gone, far enough to miss the fearful atmosphere of the men being spooked by their new allies. The boy, however, felt something very off about the dependency of these aliens to assist them in their next phase of Cinder's ultimate plan.

"Why couldn't we just have the White Fang do the dirty work instead of Torchwick's gang?" he wondered aloud.

"You heard Cinder. She and that witch, Odius, need some punching bags to provide the distraction for the Huntsmen and those… Rangers, was it?" Emerald reminded him, making sure she got a nod from him to confirm the names of the monsters' own enemies. "With Torchwick locked up, that henchmen of that no good loser are just the guys for the job." They then continued off, returning to their boss back at Beacon to report on their mission. "Besides, she needs to save the White Fang 'till later. When she has better parts of the plan set in motion, that is." And just like that, the two teens headed out of the alleys, back into the abundance of people, who were all unaware of the dangers to come from their efforts to spread chaos and realize Cinder's own goals.

 **TO BE CONTINUED…**

* * *

 **A/N~ Finally got another chapter out of the way! I hope you guys were patient, because I had so much to do this time around. I'm just glad I've updated this story again, so that I can focus on more stories that require my attention.**

 **Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Please leave a favourite or a follow, or maybe both, you know? Give me some love XD Anyways, thanks so much for reading, and I shall see you guys later!**


	10. Who Let the Cody Out?

**A/N~ At last, a long overdue chapter! Gosh, I'm so good at these late chapters XD**

 **Okay, seriously, I must apologize for the long update. Now, I've got a job and I'm being led away from writing stories until when I'm free, which is like late at night and weekends. But even then, I'm still busy on weekends... Regardless, this story will go on!**

 **Reviews:**

 **DB-19:**

 **Nah, man. I haven't watched Kamen Rider, so I wouldn't be aware of what you told me XD**

 **Another round of thanks for the following users;**

 **summer490, Redder45, KlonoaFan64, dragonbane522, , Cyrus the Dragonhog,WerewolfMazuko117, coquianbal, DB-20 (I'm assuming this is you, DB-19?), captain marvolus, Cure Anime and Cylon One.**

 **Now, that's a whole lot of people who've added my story to their lists! But, frankly, I still need to update more frequently. I'll do the best I can for those updates, but I need to focus on work too, so bear with me.**

 **Anyway, hope you'll enjoy this next chapter!**

* * *

 **Chapter 9: Who Let the Cody Out?!**

 _ **~BLAKE'S POV~**_

Beacon Library,

Beacon Academy,

Vale,

Remnant,

The answer… was always there. No question can be complete without one. It all matters on how long and how much you know that can influence your speed in solving them. But the question I was faced with was definitely impossible to solve at this time.

"Hmmmm…" I paced around the library, almost losing my patience over the new troubles were facing. Nothing had ever forced me to stand up and walk around when I would usually just sit down quietly at my table as I silently read my research books.

Ever since that monster first appeared in Forever Fall, I felt that it was something that none of us had ever seen before. When we faced the creature head on, I felt the usual sense of curiosity and fear of the unknown over what we had never seen before. This was clearly something that we did not know at all, not even its motives as it just disappeared out of thin air; into a dark purple warping beam that zapped it out of our sights.

From that moment on, we knew we were going to deal with some ravenous force that we were totally unaware of. Frankly, though, right now, as I went through the library, it would appear that no one had ever seen such monstrous abominations like that thing either. For years, the only abominations we have been fighting against were the deadly creatures of Grimm. All of them were similar in their colour schemes; black bodies with white and red skulls and glowing yellow eyes. The creature we just saw was nothing of the sort, looking more like some living wrecking ball with limbs and a hideous face. It was unlike anything I have ever read in any form of media, not even in my wildest of fantasy novels.

As soon as I entered the library, I looked through all the books I could find; biology books, books about the creatures of Grimm and books on ancient science and history, every book I felt was necessary to find the leads I needed to identify our mysterious monster. Okay. Of all the…twenty-five books I've read so far, nothing about some monstrous creatures with such abnormalities other than the Grimm.

Unfortunately, sometimes I get too distracted, in the worst ways possible. I clenched a fist at some of the other monster books I've read, and to my greatest fury, I came across some disturbing and completely aggravating content about including the Faunus as one of those ' _disgusting and dangerous critters_ ' that the world needs to avoid. Disgusting and dangerous? Have these clowns been looking in the mirror lately? Pathetic. If I had my way, I would have come over to their houses and… ahem, smacked the sense out of them.

No. That wouldn't be me. At least, the me that I am now.

Ignoring the ugly comments and the unsuccessful search for answers not progressive, I decided to finally stop my research. I got up from my chair and took the big pile of books from the table to begin the daunting task of returning them to the shelves. There was just nothing I could find that fit the description of what my team and I encountered in the forest. Whatever that monster was, it had some form of intelligence, judging by how it was able to speak basic English at us.

Whatever it was that we fought against, I certainly hope it wouldn't be around until we were ready to fight it, or whatever force it was working under.

I certainly understood why Ruby wanted to jump into the action, for the sake of the people around her. She wasn't very much aware of what this unknown threat could do, but she, at least, had some initiative to act. However, the timing of her response to the danger was just too soon. Right after the Breach, we had to be put on break by the headmaster himself, testing our obedience in the midst of rebuilding and preparation for the Festival coming soon. Ruby had to jump to the scene right after we were given our orders to stand down, so I could also relate to Weiss and Yang for trying to stop her.

I refused to say anything, just to find which side I would take. At least, that was what they expected me to do. In truth, I was only trying to formulate what to do at my own behalf.

Speaking of the brief suspension, I was kind of sceptical by the decision, to be honest. Wasn't Ozpin himself who decided to bend those rules for us? Then, all of a sudden, he then chose to keep us down in our rooms until a given time. Not really a punishing amount of time, but certainly nothing to feel relaxed about.

Either way, if the time would come when this unknown threat would emerge, we had to be prepared. So far, none of the books in the library were of any help, at least, not as far as I looked. The day was still fresh, but I didn't have time to stay for long. There were some other activities I needed to complete at Beacon, including some of the term break homework Doctor Oobleck and Professor Port gave us all to do.

As much as I wanted to stay and research some more, I couldn't risk getting obsessed with my efforts on gaining the upper hand over our unknown visitors. I'd gotten myself tired and weak after my own over-reliance on stopping my old comrades and Torchwick before the Breach. If Yang ever found out I was being all studious and driven to study too much, she'd give me a really bad time…

So, with great reluctance, I put away all of the books I took (and yes, that meant all the thirty-seven books I overloaded onto the table) and placed them back to where they belonged. It was a miracle I memorized all of their original places in the shelves, or the librarian would be having me blacklisted from ever coming back; student or not.

I exited the library to find my way towards the next transport to Vale. It was by time I got some proper food to fully replenish my lost energy from reading all of those books and banging my head every time I couldn't get the answers I needed.

The answers… The answers were out there. I just needed some leads to follow on and fix the pieces of the puzzle together. But if I were to find clues and other means to getting closer to my goal, then it'd have to be anywhere else than the city. Unfortunately, Beacon had a very tight security system to ensure that its students were present and accounted for, and not playing hooky against the orders of Professor Ozpin.

It was only a matter of time before the suspension was lifted, but who knew how long it would take until it was too late. I thought to myself if we would have enough time before anything bad would happen. If there was a chance to get the answers I needed, then would it have been wise to actually follow Ruby to wherever she went?

Sometimes, our team leader was always the one who managed to break through against the odds and still came back victorious. Maybe that was why I didn't let Weiss and Yang stop her from pursuing her objective. Maybe Ruby could find the solution to our current predicament. That girl was always full of surprises, so I wouldn't be any bit surprised myself if she managed to come back with a way or, I hoped, a plan to beat these weird monsters.

Either way, my search for a way to fight these monsters had to be put on hold. If only Tukson was around to keep his bookshop open; he always became an alternative to giving me sources of information unavailable in the Beacon Library. It was truly a tragedy that he was found to have committed suicide. I always found comfort sharing my concerns with the former White Fang member after I was enlisted into Beacon, but now that he was gone, there was an empty feeling inside, both for the loss of a source of information, but also the loss of a friend. Though, I had to question why he would ever think about suicide when he was at the prime of his life. No one had ever threatened him at all, everyone was actually quite fond of him every time they came to visit him.

Unless, he had some dark secret to hide… I had to wonder, but for now, there was only

I hope nothing else would go wrong from now on. The last thing we needed was to have these alien invaders come out of nowhere and cause chaos when we were just recovering from a crisis.

I got down to the city, getting off the transport and immediately searching for the nearest shop and find something refreshing to consume and relax my mind. A cold drink of water and a nice raw trout would do. Or… maybe just a few more fishes to the course… A Simple Wok would have just what I needed, although the main course of their soup noodles was not to my taste.

The Commercial District was just as busy as ever, despite the damage done to the city square by the Grimm attack not long ago. Pedestrians were still walking around with little concern, going to do whatever they had to do for the day.

However, when I got to the city square, that was where the differences laid. I could still see the large open hole on the ground, punched open by our failed attempt to stop the train from crashing through. The wreck of the train my team and I hijacked was not sticking out anymore, removed right after the disaster. A protective energy barrier was enveloped into the very rim of the hole, surrounded by military personnel and construction vehicles as they supervised the repairs to the hole. Doubling the security in the area were extra guards patrolling the surrounding streets, checking for more stragglers who might cause more trouble.

I paid no attention to the site afterwards, not wanting to remind myself of the chaos that came from our failure to stop it from happening. Even after we emerged victorious, the attack had left many people in fear of more possible attacks in the future. If our walls weren't enough to stop the Grimm from attacking the city, then there was no guarantee of a safer society if our enemies could just punch a hole in our streets and allow beasts of Grimm to rampage through.

At least Torchwick was stopped. Many of his goons were captured and the rest were being hunted down as we spoke, so one of our problems had been taken care of. But there was still the White Fang out there. I could only wonder where my fallen brothers had been during the Breach, after being involved with Torchwick for a good amount of time now. I had to worry every night about what they would do next to bring us to ruin.

And now, there was this weird monstrous creature that appeared and disappeared from out of the blue, warning us of more danger that was to come. Until we can find answers to this abnormal situation, we had to be extra wary; probably even warier than ever before.

For now, all is calm and no troublemaker was going to do any more harm to us.

For now…

Two words that really bug me to this day. Nothing was ever over, even nefarious schemes and malicious fools who would do anything to make us vulnerable and leave the city at risk of destruction. The only thing we could do as Huntresses is to ensure that the city and the people around us were safe from danger.

Afterwards, I was just about to turn to the corner of the road where I would end up at the eating place of my choice. I could smell the essence of food being cooked already; more so the aromatic smell of raw fish that tickled my taste buds.

"Please! Don't hurt me!" All of a sudden, my senses tingled. With my cat ears, although tied into the 'bow', I could hear the faint cry of a woman calling out for help. Resisting my hunger for fish, I decided that helping another victim in need was more important.

I ran off from my initial course and headed straight to where the trouble was happening. From what I could pick up, the sounds came from the alleyways in between two shop houses just a few metres away. Yeah, the typical place to get mugged by robbers and assaulted by creeps who'd do anything for their pleasures. From the cries, I could make out the woman in question sounded old and weak. An elderly woman, if my senses were correct; more of a vulnerable target to any scum out there.

When I reached the place of where the sounds were clearly coming from, I quickly hid myself from behind the wall of the right house that led into the alley. I peeked over to find the scene of the crime happening right before my eyes. As I deduced correctly, it was an old woman, wearing an orange cardigan and a cyan dress underneath her. Judging by her grey permed hair, she must have been in her 70's or 80's. And yet, flanking her from her sides, she was being harassed by two younger, but much more conniving men, dressed in black tuxedos and wore red sunglasses.

From their looks, they looked like the same men that were part of Hei Xiong, or as Yang called him, Junior's gang. They were just scorning the woman, staring menacingly into her with gestures suggesting ill will and violence.

"Don't worry, nice lady." I heard one of the men chuckle heartlessly.

"Yeah!" The other one boomed loudly. "No one's gonna hurt 'ya. Except us!"

"Oh no!" The woman cried again, making my heart race with panic over the amount of time she had before whatever terrible things they would do to her. They seemed to be eyeing the red purse she was holding so hard onto. Instantly, I knew that this was a robbery. A simple robbery, but robbery against an innocent elderly woman. Those men were just as sick as any of Torchwick's men; willing to steal off a defenceless person and still threaten to hurt her.

There was no time to waste; when I saw they were about to snatch that purse from the lady, I jumped right out and acted. I leapt over and pounced one of the men, tackling him down to the ground. The thug crashed right into the stoned floor as I rolled away. The other man looked very stunned after my attack on his cohort, backing away from the woman and unable to act against me to save his friend.

"Run!" I yelled at the old lady, nodding right away and scurrying off to safety. The thief did not to pursue her, too focused on my sudden arrival to her rescue. Despite my relief for the woman's safety, I scowled at seeing his teeth being gritted with anger, sinister intent evident just by looking at his face.

As I thought correctly, he came walking towards me, wielding a black baton to be used to take me out. He whacked the weapon on his other hand, staring intensely at my eyes with the idea of blacking me out very well etched in his mind. I had no time calling for my weapon stored in my personal locker back in Beacon. In fact, I probably didn't even need it. Scum like these thieves were nothing compared to everything I had been through as a member of the White Fang, and then as a Huntress. I didn't need Gambol Shroud to handle such underwhelming crooks, even if I had it with me.

No matter what the odds, I had to be careful. One careless move and even a weapon of such low standards would be the end of me. They were still dangerous men who would do anything just to make their lives so much more satisfying.

I gave them what was coming to them. After I tackled the first thief, I charged for the other, just when he was about to swing that baton at me. I rolled to the ground, missing the weapon with no problem before ending up with a kick to his leg that tripped him down.

I was about to knock the guy unconscious, but then, a powerful knock on my head pushed me off my balance and forcing me to back off. The pain on my head wasn't too bad, just caught me a little off guard. It was still quite frustrating to feel that pain when you least expected it. I turned my head to see that the guy I knocked out first was already standing up, throwing a tin can at me to get me off his partner's back.

Shaking my head, I turned my attention to the other man, not going to let my assumption of these weak little men, unable to match my fighting skills, affect my focus any longer. This time, when I engaged him, he seemed to have put up more of a fight, actually using his fists and rapidly swiping them at me. Too bad he wasn't doing any better at trying to hurt me. All I did was sway my body around to avoid each punch before I delivered a much deserved kick to the face. The crook's body dragged off all the way to the wall, not ending up hit hard, but still out for the count.

Finally, there was his other buddy, sneaking up behind me, thinking that I had no idea he was behind me. Hasn't he learnt that we Faunus have powerful hearing? It didn't matter; all I had to do to end his little shenanigans was to deliver one last punch to his face and the man was also down on the ground. With both men down, I looked at their fallen bodies, seeing if they would rise up and resume their little pursuit on me.

After a few seconds of waiting, they were already squirming in pain, not willing to go on any longer. I sighed, both to relieve my muscles after the little encounter, and for the fact that I found the brawl to be quite pathetic. They fought sloppily and with predictably slow speed, not fast or smart enough to even surprise me. Just a bunch of the usual ruffians around here in Vale. It was almost as if I missed the thrill of fighting real threats like Torchwick and the Grimm. At least they had the power and brains to fight their foes; these two thugs were nothing more than worthless amateurs compared to the enemies I've fought before this.

Deciding to just leave them writhing in pain, I walked out of the alley and looked around for the old lady. Surely enough, when I turned to my left from the alley, there she was, waiting for me as I exited. Her little legs began tip-toeing as she came towards me with a bright smile.

"Oh! Thank you so much, young lady!" She cheered as she came to pinch my right cheek. I resisted the urge to hiss, trying to hide my annoyance and force a fully grateful face. True, I was indeed grateful that she wasn't hurt, but the way she was showing her thanks was almost… aggravating, especially for a cat Faunus like me.

"Erm…" I uttered as I rubbed my cheek. "It was nothing, ma'am." Now that the trouble was over, it was time for me to get my planned meal. After I bowed to bid her farewell, I turned away from the old lady and headed to the stall for my lunch. "Be sure to call the police to come get these thugs."

"Will do!" Immediately, the woman just walked off, waving goodbye and leaving me back to do my usual business. However, as I touched the cheek where she pinched, something didn't feel right. When she pinched me, there was almost this revolting smell that I picked up. Like a decomposing corpse, her fingers just gave off a smell that made me very sick. I didn't know what was it; she looked very clean, with wrinkly, but pure skin. What could have possibly made that pungent odour, I wouldn't know exactly.

It wasn't important. Maybe those goons held her hand and whatever messy substance they must have held got onto her palm. Either way, I was going to move on and enjoy a nice day's snack before returning back to Beacon.

Nothing was going to go wrong today… for now…

* * *

 _ **~CALVIN'S POV~**_

Hayley and I have been looking for hours to find a place to stay in. It's already been a day since we came here to this dimension and yet, we were struggling to stay anywhere. All we could do was pitch up the tents we packed up for emergencies like this.

Turned out that wherever we went, everything sold had to paid with the local currency of the planet. _Lien_ , they called it. Nothing like the money we had back home on Earth. I don't know how many dollars would be for one lien, or how many liens would make for one dollar. Or even how many cents and vice versa. Well, nothing much we could do than just let us sleep in our tent and munch on our supplies.

At the moment, we were patrolling the streets for more signs of suspicious activity. But the only things we found suspicious were the people with these weird animal-like features on their bodies. I wanted to ask what the occasion was for these strange people, but Hayley discouraged me, thinking that it might had been rude to inquire about these things on their bodies. So, our eyes were all over the place, looking for signs of Galvanax and any of his cohorts anywhere in the city. We were dropped off by Mick and the Astro Zord, and we began the hunt for the enemy.

So far, nothing unusual happened that caught our attention.

"Man, I wished we stayed in that hotel." I sighed, marvelling how comfortable it may had been if we got to stay in that hotel. "If I knew that some so-called liens were the money in this joint, I would have stopped to get a part-time job. Ain't that right, Hayley?" When I called my girlfriend, I didn't hear a response. I turned to her, finding that she was looking elsewhere. Her face had that worried look on it, letting me know that something was definitely wrong. "Hayley?"

She looked frantic, almost like she had witnessed a tragic event unfold in front of her. One thing I knew from my relationship with Hayley is that when she is in panic mode, it was never any better than a simple mistake or worry. Whenever she was alarmed, something was really wrong.

"Calvin." she spoke to me, still shaky. Then, she told me what was bothering her, but that was also when I saw what was troubling her, sending chills down my spine, too. "Where's Cody?"

"Oh no." Instantly, my reaction was stiff and fearful. Just a few moments ago, Cody was just behind us, following Hayley as any loyal canine would. And then, all of a sudden, he was gone, nowhere to be seen. It was never like Cody to just run off without letting Hayley know. He was always there by her side. And now, out of the blue, he had disappeared without a trace.

"Cody!" Hayley immediately went to call out for him, fearing the worst.

"Cody!" I followed along. I loved that dog just as much as Hayley, and my truck. He was fonder of Hayley, of course, but he was just as sweet and loyal for me, too. I had to find him, joining Hayley to the fray. "Here, boy!"

We went searching for Cody in this big city, asking around for any sign of the dog. Everywhere we went, anybody we asked, but so far, our search was fruitless. We searched for about ten minutes, hoping to find anything that could lead to his whereabouts.

Hayley was already panicking. I couldn't remember the last time Cody ever ran away from her without her knowledge. In this situation, she was already beginning to break down. That dog was just as precious to her as her mom and me. I moved to comfort her, wrapping my arm around her while assuring her that everything would be alright.

"I knew I shouldn't have brought him here." she cried. "You were right, Calvin. This was a bad idea." I couldn't just let Hayley get down on herself so badly like this. Cody was a very brilliant pup, no matter how dire things got, he always had some way to come back and help Hayley when she needed him the most.

I remembered this one time where he was trapped in a deep mud pit back on Earth. We tried so hard to get him out, waiting for help to arrive, but then, by some miracle, Cody was able to hoist himself up using the long rope we used and eventually got back up. That dog was far smarter than we thought, and when we became Rangers, he became a huge help even against dangerous monsters.

"Hey. Don't say that." I hushed her softly. "Cody's a smart dog and you know that. He can take care of himself. I'm sure he'll find us on his own." Hayley began to show signs of improvement in her mood, giving me a small smile for making her feel better. There hasn't been one time where Cody had ever stumbled before. We had to hope that the intelligent wit of that Husky would bring himself back to us in no time.

Still, we couldn't just stand around and wait for him. We had to keep searching for him, even if it meant delaying our objective of finding leads to Galvanax. If we moved around in the city, it would improve our odds in finding Cody.

"Let's just keep looking for him." said Hayley.

"Right." And so, we kept on looking for our dear dog, constantly calling out for him and asking around the city for any whereabouts. Little did we know that our search would lead us to something much larger…

* * *

 _ **~BLAKE'S POV~**_

A few liens for a bowl of tuna noodles, sitting idly by while we were still grounded in Vale until further notice. It was all worth it. The tender taste of fish went really well with the slightly salty soup and noodles. Just like that, nothing else to add to the mix but fish, noodles, soup and a pinch of the usual minced spring onions. Sometimes, the simplest of meals can be the most appetizing for people like me.

The meal was appetizing enough to get me started for another round of investigating and surveillance over the growing crisis involving that unknown monster. It was probably best if I returned to Beacon to resume my research there, since Tukson's was unfortunately closed down for good.

After giving the man my pay, I went out and headed my way back to Beacon, expecting my teammates to have settled things out with each other before we could finally move on. I expected my walk back to Beacon was going to be a smooth trip, with no interruptions or bizarre shenanigans to catch my attention, at least for now.

"Huh?" But, just when I was about to leave, I heard something come from the same alley where I saved that old lady. Some loud barking and audible growling, coupled by the familiar sounds of those terrible men up to no good.

"ARGH!" A shrilling scream sounded off, spurring me to action. I assumed that they were messing with someone else, clearly annoyed over something. "Get off me, you mutt!" I quickly ran as fast as I could, reaching to the same alley where I dealt with those fools.

As I got there, I found those same idiots again. This time, to my surprise, the tables have turned. Now, I was seeing them being the targets to some lone dog who had just taken a bite at the wrist of one of the men. Its jaws were clamped shut as the goon tried to shake it off, yelling in pain.

Finally, he managed to release himself from the dog's bite, with the animal landing just a few inches away. It then got back to threatening the two thugs, snarling with anger. I turned my head to the men and I saw that they were about ready to strike back. The man behind the bitten one had a hard metal pipe in his hand, whacking it into his palm in the usual delinquent manner. Despite their growing intent on hurting the dog, the hound refused to give in, still bending its body as it prepared to jump at them.

The mischievous look on the two men's faces told me that they were not going to let it go so easily. It was clear to me that they wanted to hurt the dog so badly, not caring if they were just in its way. That really got me very agitated. To see a defenceless creature going up against the worst of mankind, it reminded me of how much us Faunus were dealing with the hatred and discrimination always in motion within society. These type of people would always assume that animals hold no emotion or care for their lives, that they are nothing more than mere creatures with no sense of sentience.

It was this kind of blind ignorance that I couldn't stand for. So, I had to do something. Gulp as much as I had to, for being a cat Faunus would, I always had a problem with dogs… Ergh, those filthy, slobbery mutts…

But no matter how much I felt about them, they were still innocent animals who didn't deserve to be hurt or worse, just because some humans have barged in their territory. Another thing to consider was whether or not it was even wild in the first place. Maybe it had an owner that was lost and looking for them. I couldn't bear to imagine the sadness inflicted if I let it suffer from these malicious men, the very same men who had just tried to rob off an old lady.

Spirited by the need to protect, I prepared to give these two another round of pain. I was sure that the next time they saw me, they were probably going to learn from their last mistake and came more prepared. It was a good thing I had Gambol Shroud with me, since I had to worry about some random monster on the loose.

I made my presence known, jumping right in to face them before they could hurt the Husky. My blade immediately shifted out of my holster as I prepared to make good work on their faces. Too bad I wouldn't get the chance, though. As soon as they saw me, they immediately flew into a state of panic.

"Run!" And just like that, fearing the worst, they took off, presumably realizing that I wasn't some strong Faunus girl. Well, so much for a second round of action. In the end, all that mattered was that I took care of them and saved the dog.

I sheathed my weapon back into my belt and decided to at least see if the dog wasn't the least in pain by the encounter. But then, that was when my instincts started to fight back. My habitual distaste for the canine kind was starting to force me to look away. I just couldn't take it; I'm a cat Faunus, and the curse of having the behavioural traits of a real feline was the one thing that made me feel ashamed or encumbered by. I did the right thing, but my body was still telling me that it was a dog, a cat's natural enemy.

I took one good look at the dog, and immediately, my instincts kicked in. It stared with its dreadful eyes, glaring right into mine with ferocity. It panted with its tongue out, with those sharp teeth ready to gnaw me apart! Its legs stood up straight, the better to pounce me down with! It continued to stare at me with the intent to hunt me down and shred me up to thousands of bits… And then, before it could do so, it barked, hounding me with that booming, echoing sound of…

Wait a minute…

 **BARK!**

Ergh… what was I thinking? I let my fear of dogs get the best of me. I'm a Faunus, not a real cat. I shook my head, letting go of my horrified state before it could get the better of me.

 **WOOF!**

The second time it tried to call me, I just scoffed, not wanting to do anything with this mutt.

"Don't get any ideas, dog." I groaned with disdain. The dog did seem to get the message and, after a whimper, decided to run away off from the streets and into the big city roads. I swore, dogs were indeed more scared of me than I am them. Ironic, really…

I shrugged my shoulders, deciding that I've already done my part with dealing with the usual lowlifes and moved out of the dirty alleys before more scum arrived. Out back into the bright openness of the city, I trailed my way back to Beacon, feeling like nothing weird was going to ruin the day to study and prepare.

I was just on the sidewalk, just five minutes after I saved that mutt from those thugs. The streets were still calm and normal, without any more signs of trouble from as far as I could see. It felt like it was going to be a smooth trip back to the airship and back to Beacon to resume my investigation on this strange incident with the monster.

 **BARK!**

The hairs on me almost peeled off when I heard that shrieking bark again. I spun around, fists clenched and hand almost to my blade to react. I was about to strike in a second when I laid my eyes on the culprit. Right there, that darn Husky was sitting on the sidewalk in front of me. Again, it stared at me with those eyes and panted, showing its teeth. My skin was starting to creep all over me when looking at this dog. It just sat there, wagging its tail and waiting for me like it wanted me to do something.

Ignoring the dog again, I walked off, leaving it behind. I really didn't want to do anything with it, knowing it could live off on its own.

 **WOOF!**

Another shrilling bark. This time, I was starting to get really annoyed than startled. Again, I spun around to show my discontent. Tapping my foot impatiently, I stared into that dog's eyes and sighed.

"Seriously?" That was all I said before turning around again. I picked up the pace and walked faster to prepare and run. When I turned my head back, that dog was still following me, skipping behind me with its tail up high and wagging.

At that moment, I had to run. Just around the corner, my feet were pumped up and I made the run for it, speeding off before that dog would know what'd hit him. I ran as fast as I could, disappearing off through the roads and past many buildings to shake off that dog.

I was able to run for a good five minutes to another part of the city, looking out for the dog, in case it was following me. After a good few seconds, I paused to catch my breath, relieved that I lost sight of it.

 **BARK!**

"Eek!" I jumped up in frightened again. Right behind, that dog just appeared out of nowhere. I didn't believe it could possibly have followed me all the way here! I ran as fast as my body could take me, and yet, this dog managed to catch up. Very few people or creatures that I knew of could ever match my speed. As amazed as I should be, I was starting to lose my patience with this dog, stomping my foot in frustration.

"Look." I told it with a face that might scare off a few Grimm. "I am not here to make any friends. So, please. Do me a favour and leave me be." Once again, I sped off into the distance. To make sure to get somewhere where it'll never find me, I jumped up the buildings and ran along the rooftops with the same speed. I believe Ruby called it 'parkouring', the way we would jump from roof to roof in a steady pace, based on a few video games she and Yang played. The difference was that I was doing the real stunt with physical strength, not some virtual coding. I was losing my energy from running so much from a mere canine mutt…

So, after another good run, I landed back down on the ground, looking around frantically. At that intersection, I couldn't see the dog for a good few seconds, hoping this would do the trick.

 **WOOF!**

Drats… It was still there! Right behind me, like the last time! I jumped across random buildings, and it still caught up…

"Really…?" I tapped my foot with impatience. I couldn't afford to keep up with the dog for too long. Who knew what it was going to do me at this rate? So, with all that I had, I made one more full run back to do the port to where I could hitch a ride to a Bullhead back to Beacon.

There was no stopping me now. All the way, I ran, jumped, and dashed to the city square where I could take the next transport back to the Academy. Right past the city square and over more buildings, taking in a much longer run towards the airport.

I could have sworn I'd never run that much in such a long time. Not even the worst of my sorrows had made me run this long ever. All because of a silly Husky, of all things… The entire run lasted for about five minutes, with me having run for miles without stop. After escaping within that distance, there was no way even the most capable of dogs could ever find me again. So, I made a complete stop to catch my breath, stopping to slowly breathe in and out and relax my tired body from the long run.

Around me, I could see that there were a few market stalls set up across the corner road, with fewer people to go around the place. The less people saw me in this state the better, and I definitely did not want that dog to catch me. My head turned here and there, scanning for that meddlesome pooch all around the street. My senses kicked in to help reinforce my vision as I felt for its revolting presence.

Minutes of sensing had gone by, shifting through multiple areas of the market and all looked clear. I couldn't feel that fearful presence anywhere. After I sensed around for the dog for a few more minutes, the feeling of ease was slowly coming back to me.

"Phew…" Finally, after running for so long, I escaped my pursuer, taking the moment to relax and rest before continuing my…

 **WOOF!**

"AAH!" All at once, my nerves jumped to the max. The sudden instincts of fear came back to me, crawling over my skin like the cowardly cat I'm always told to be in front of these canines. Surely enough, even after all that running and jumping, that freaking dog is still there, right behind me!

"Ergh… Why do I even bother?" I groaned, giving up at the point of running away. If I couldn't even escape from it for five darn minutes, then what was the point of even trying? My body turned around to finally face that mutt once and for all. I have had it with this dog tailing me everywhere I went, so I had to tell it straight to its face. My face stiffened with disdain, frustrated more than afraid as my habitual instincts were forcing me back with.

"I really don't have time for games, dog. I'm going tell you again, and I want you to remember it." I was about to give it a good yelling to seal the deal, but I wasn't going to get the chance when the dog suddenly got up and turned around, ears perked up and its face suddenly panicked. Maybe it was finally getting the message, and I thought for a split second that it might just run off to leave me be.

Unfortunately, to my dismay, it wasn't being bothered by me. Rather, its attention was being directed elsewhere. Apparently, someone else decided to make my day, and once again, I winced.

Looking at where the dog was facing at, I saw the same men I found harassing the old lady and the dog in the alleys. This time, however, they had much more for me to deal with. Right behind the two men, four more lackeys decided to join the fray, armed with real weapons this time. A few conventional ones, being daggers, clubs and a stun baton, were at hand. They clearly must have learned their lessons last time, and were now ready to take me on through proper means.

"Okay, kitty cat!" The lead man whacked his metal club onto his palm, sharing everyone else's glee in doing damage. "Time for you to pay. Big time!"

Now, I really had to be more serious in this encounter. Gambol Shroud was already unsheathed from my back, holding both the blade and the sheath at the ready. I bent down to defend myself, ready to jump at the moment they came close. The whole line of goons walked forward with their glaring eyes on me. Their constant smug faces didn't waver me, for I had to teach them one last lesson that they'll most definitely regret. I wouldn't kill them, of course, but they were serving just another scoundrel in Vale. There was still no holding back in using my weapons against a gang as violent as these guys were.

 **BARK! BARK!**

Then, all of a sudden, the dog next to me began to bark loudly at them, standing right beside me, as if it wanted to fight too. Despite all my paranoia for the canine kind, I didn't want it to get hurt in this cruel battle. It was already bad enough it got in trouble once from the thugs, but I certainly didn't want it being beaten by a whole group of them.

And still, without a moment of hesitation, the dog raced forward with full fury, growling as it did.

"Wait!" I yelled to it, but it was no use. It kept on running and running. The thugs certainly didn't forget the dog, so they took pleasure on making it their first target. I stood stuneed for a moment, horrified over what might happen next, actually fearful for its life.

The dog leapt forward, causing one of the thugs to swing his dagger at it. But, as it so happened, it managed to jump up and tackled the guy, barely missing the sharp blade from cutting it. Once pounced onto the thug, it began biting his arm that held the knife, making it drop from his fingers and began holding him down in place. As the gangster screamed, I watched the others backed off for a split second, slightly flinching over the surprise move.

That's when I saw my chance. I moved forward and attacked them while they were distracted. Soon, they began to face me, but I was already half way towards them. My blade pointed right at the first guy I fought, swinging my katana at him. He managed to block the strike, just in the nick of time. Then, another one was about to hit me with his club, shouting with ferocity. I denied his attack and gave him a swift side-kick to the face before swinging my katana off the first thug's weapon and swiped another man behind me.

I couldn't focus on the dog, but knowing that I had five men onto me, at least it had the only man left under control. However, I couldn't shake the feeling that it may not last long enough against him. Yes, I could not really get along with dogs, but again, that didn't mean leaving it to be hurt by these cruel men.

So, I had to end this quickly. One of the men swished his dagger at me, slashing from side to side like a hungry Beowolf, ravenous and completely driven to kill. Such attacks were always so predictable, using my speed was pretty much the solid move against the rapid slashes of Grimm claws and opponents with no appreciation for properly focused strikes. Each move got me pushed back until another thug was right behind me. Sensing his presence, I immediately leapt up before he could seize the moment, causing the slashing crook to crash right into him. I then landed down and went for the next thug in sight, swiping him with a spin kick to his head.

To my back, I quickly heard clicking sounds, alerting me to two of the beaten men as they drew out a couple of revolvers. My nerves triggered at the moment they pulled the trigger, with bullets heading right for me. I dodged the shots by blocking them off with Gambol Shroud with great precision. When I couldn't handle the pressure, I jumped out of the way before I could get overwhelmed by the barrage.

Once they were out of ammo from wasting it on me, I dashed up and pursued them, knocking their weapons from their arms before kicking them out of action. Before I could regain my focus, another thug tried to have another go at me with his club, causing me to react prematurely and locked my blades against it. I was then able to swipe the weapon away from me and bashed him with my sheath.

Finally, I noticed that one guy was slowly getting back up, aiming his gun at me in an attempt to score a final blow. He fired the gun, only once… All I did was block the bullet before throwing my katana towards him, being pulled from its cable and knocking away the gun. Afterwards, I swung it again and let the hilt of the sword bang him on the head, ending the scuffle, once and for all.

Once I ended the fight, I then turned to where the dog had tackled the first gangster. To my surprise, the two were still fighting; that dog was still holding on without any problem! I watched them circle each other, with the man trying to aim his dagger at it and the dog's teeth sticking out with a threatening growl.

Then, the man attacked, charging at the husky. The nimble canine was able to jump out of the way and got behind him. The next thing he did was to bite onto the man's jacket and pulled him down. And then, there was the most surprising part of this brief exchange. The dog jumped up onto a nearby crate, towering over the thug who was still pulled down. Next, it leapt up and, with great height, dived down and pushed its front paws down onto him, delivering a powerful kick to his stomach. The man screamed at the top of his lungs after the move.

I stared at the dog with such amazement. Never before have I seen an animal like this dog fight with such intelligence and delivered a powerful blow to its opponent. It just baffled me beyond expectations! Wherever this dog learned how to fight like that, it clearly wasn't anything I've ever seen from a creature in the wild. It had to have learned to jump up from a high point and kick its paws like that from a sentient being.

A master of sorts.

Maybe it wasn't a stray, after all. I couldn't really know what was really going on, but that dog was clearly something special…

In any case, after pulling off that impressive feat, the fight was finally over. I looked around and saw that the men were getting up. They looked like they had used up all their energy, having been pounded around by yours truly. When they were all up on their feet, they started running away, scattering into the streets and, hopefully, never to come across me again.

I sighed, sliding my katana back into the sheath before locking it on my back. These days, after all I've been through, I couldn't help but feel, as a first, bored… I don't know. It's probably a symptom from my first mission as a Huntress, that fighting a large horde of Grimm and facing my former comrades at Mountain Glenn gave me some sort of drive to do more, putting me in a position where I would feel almost empty without some action.

Or who knows? It could have been a side effect from joining a dysfunctional team.

Well, none of that mattered. Junior's boys were put in their place and they already fled. The dog and I were finally left alone, which was kind of awkward… Once again, I was standing right next to my worst enemy… who was my newfound ally? I fell confused on what to do with the dog. My Faunus instincts were clashing with my warm conscience over how to thank the animal for helping me. I couldn't decide how to react for a solid minute, leaving the dog to stare at me quietly while wagging its tail expectantly.

Finally, I shook away my fears and decided to do something about the dog. Putting up with my anxiety, I bent down to greet it. My skin began to crawl the closer I got to it, making me feel a little jittery inside. But by now, I thought to myself, reminding me of how much fear I had to endure compared to just looking at a Husky. I had so much else to fear than being haunted by an animal, much less one that actually helped me fight off one less thug to ease my battle against the rest. I had more to thank it for than to loathe.

"Ugh. Fine." I sighed, defeated. Yet, I hesitated to say more. Somehow, I had the feeling I was going to regret it… "I guess I should… Thank you." And then, it happened. The dog got up, happy as it could be, and jumped up to me. It caught me off guard as it landed its paws onto me, licking me with its sandpaper tongue and smothering my face with its slimy drool. I was almost about to let loose a scream and faint, only to withstand the disgusting gesture with a bit of strength.

"Okay! Okay! Get off!" I pushed it back to the ground, landing on the ground on its paws. After wiping my face, I glared at it for one second before I took a deep breath, regaining my tolerance. I had so much more to do to control my own fears of these mutts. Great, now I had a dog for a friend. Couldn't get any worse than that, right?

Just then, as I looked at the Husky, I noticed something on it. Inspecting it closely, I saw a red collar around its neck. That confirmed my suspicions that this dog had an owner, knowing that it was able to fight like no other dog I've ever seen, except maybe for Zwei, Ruby's own dog.

"Hold on." I reached for the collar, noticing the golden pendant dangling from its neck. "You've got a collar." I took a look, wondering if there was something I could find that might lead me to whoever left their dog out here in Vale. From the shiny golden plate, a few words were inscribed onto it.

 _Cody_

 _If Lost, Contact Hayley Foster…_

The rest of the description was a strange code of numbers that Blake wasn't too familiar with, not even in terms of Scroll usage. I still made out the fact that the dog had a name and **his** owner's was right there as well. There was only one thing to do. Go to one of Vale's police stations and inform the authorities to help locate the owner.

"Well, whoever this Hayley is, she must be worried sick about you, huh?" Cody whimpered, ears lowered down. Why would the owner just leave her dog around to roam the streets like this? At first, I couldn't help but grimace at the idea of abandoning the poor dog. Yet, I sensed its sadness, coming off as a genuine feeling of concern and loss, like he had just been separated rather than abandoned. So, with that in mind, dare I say it, I was going to help this dog, Cody, reunite with his owner. "Come on, then." I told him to follow along and the two of us walked casually away from the alley and out in the open, in search for Hayley Foster.

She had to be worried about him right now…

* * *

 _ **~HAYLEY'S POV~**_

"We've looked for ages now." I groaned. At the same time, I was just desperate for a sign. Cody had to be around the place, looking for me right now. Even in school, he would always find a way to find me and we would head off together right at the very end of school time.

What I still didn't get was why he ran off without telling me or Calvin. He would never leave me without barking at me and showing me where he would go. In battles against Galvanax, he was always there to make sure I didn't get hurt. He was as loyal as any good dog would be. So why did he run off?

I hoped he didn't get kidnapped or anything…

"We can't give up." reminded Calvin, standing right next to me with a hand on my shoulder. "You said so yourself."

"I know, I know." I grumbled, still anxious. "Let's hurry up and keep looking." I didn't pay any attention to my boyfriend, more worried about Cody than anything else.

"Great." I heard Calvin complain. "We are sent to a huge city we've never been to, and we've lost Cody." Afterwards, we continued to search for him, sure to look all over the city if we must. I just had to find him somewhere. I wouldn't leave the planet until I found my dear dog again. He was like family to us, and family always sticks together, no matter how far we were.

We looked around for half an hour later, searching other parts of the city for signs of Cody, but everywhere we looked, our dear friend was nowhere to be found. Only more people and their animal costumes… I didn't want to disturb anyone, but it was kind of weird to see people wearing these features like it's an everyday thing. Was it a festivity? Was there some sort of event being held to make use of these costumes? It wasn't my place to judge how people lived around here, so Calvin and I decided to remain silent about it, to avoid any attention on ourselves.

But we would find out the purpose soon enough…

At that point, I saw a couple of people at a local store, looking at the cashier after buying some snacks. They both had animal features, too, with a pair of dog ears for the man, and a fox tail and ears on the other woman. Then, right behind them, a few normal human boys came into the store and started laughing at them. They began pointing their fingers at the poor couple while snickering at their sadness.

It was a terrible thing to see; being bullied by people just because of what you look like or who you are. I've seen that happen a lot at school, with kids having nothing better to do than tease or bully others because they are different.

"How horrible…" I sighed, catching Calvin's attention, too.

"What do you think they're bothering them for?" he asked.

"I don't know, Calvin." But, I did have a good idea why they were being teased about. It was obvious to me that the animal-like parts on their bodies were more than just costumes or accessories. Even more interesting, they seemed to take great offense over those boys' taunts, as if their doggy ears meant something special to them. It was then that I realized that those ears were not just any fake piece of clothing. They were **real** ears! If the harassment didn't make it obvious enough, their ears actually bent downwards, just like Cody would do when he was upset at something.

It was plain as day that these two poor people needed to be left alone, and those boys were not helping. Just then, what they did next really pushed me off my limit. As they came close to the girl, they played with what looked like a bushy fox tail coming out of her back, making her feel even more uncomfortable as she hid her head into her partner's chest. And all they did was laugh at them…

That did it!

"Hayley? Where are you going?" I didn't listen to Calvin. All I could think about was teach those bullies a lesson. I stomped my way towards the scene, angrier than I've ever been in a long time. Those boys were going to have a little taste of some White Ranger power!

"Hey!" I yelled, causing everyone to turn their heads to me. Good. Just what I needed.

"What do you want?" said one of the boys.

"What do you think you're doing?"

"Can't you tell?" the second boy pointed at the two's ears, mocking them further. "They're Faunus! They should be treated like the pests they are!"

"Yeah! They're animals. Every one of them."

"That's not fair!" Calvin joined in. "How could you say that to them, when they haven't even done anything to you?!" It was always nice to have a boyfriend as devoted to good as he was.

The couple began to retreat to our side, Calvin bringing them out while I deal with the three smirking troublemakers.

"Why do you want those freaks anyway? They've done nothing but make trouble around here." retorted the third boy.

"And what kind of trouble is that?" I fired back with my arms crossed. They all looked at me like I was not updated in the latest news. Frankly, that was very much true, since we were from another planet… But what mattered was that if that poor couple was ever dangerous, they would have done something to us by now.

"Haven't you heard what they did a month ago?" I shook my head. Honestly, I couldn't say anything about what ever happened, since trying to lie wouldn't give me much else to work with.

"How could you not have seen any of the chaos that happened?! The Grimm, the mechs, the White Fang?!"

"I… uh…" My voice almost stuttered, hearing about these things that I never experienced before.

"Well, let us remind you. Those Faunus freaks became part of a terrorist organization and opened a big hole in the city and let those monsters in. Lots of people got hurt because of them. They deserved to be punished!"

"So, let us have our fun and make these creatures deserve their treatment." Their hostile reactions to the couple were really horrifying to hear. Just because of some organization, they had the gull to blame every one of their species. I've fought tons of bad guys back on Earth before, but this was on a whole new level.

Not even Galvanax had the guts to make me this mad before. Not even the Kudabots could make me so disgusted about anyone before. These creeps, the true creeps, were the very thing we Rangers strive to fight against. So, I had to do what I must as a Ranger.

Fight with the right means to show them…

"Listen, you disgusting jerk!" Before I could show them, I suddenly saw Calvin storming right past me and grabbed the middle boy by the collar. If you thought I was mad, then you haven't seen what Calvin was like when he was angry. When people push him too far, he would let them have it, and we would band up to show people what we really thought about them… together.

"These two people have done nothing but become ordinary citizens who want to live a proper life. And if you think they should be punished for whatever crimes happened here, then I think you better get your brains checked!" The boys shuddered at how angry Calvin was. To be honest, so was I. Again, I've seen Calvin get revved up against a few bad eggs, but never like this! I could feel his frustration building up inside of him, sharing my own disbelief towards their ignorance. "So, if you know what's good for you – and let's face it, you don't – then you better leave this place before I call the authorities."

"And don't think about fighting us, because we've dealt with people worse than you." I added, keeping them shut for a while. If force was needed in the matter, then we'd have no choice but to defend ourselves. It might get us caught, but it was well worth the struggle to defend innocents. A moment later, they seemed to take the hint that we meant business and decided to back off, leaving us be.

"Come on, guys." told the larger boy, turning their backs on us and left the area. "Any friends of the freaks can't be talked to." They brushed past the couple outside and kept walking away for the streets. Calvin and I watched half-heartedly at their departure, relieved that they were gone without any confrontation. I guess that was the reality of such 'big boys' that they always seem to be tough, but don't really put up much of a fight.

That's for the best, I guess. We avoided trouble from the local authorities, and we helped a pair of helpless citizens along the way. It was all well worth the risk…

Now that the mess was cleaned up, we went to check on the couple, still holding onto each other after such a terrible incident. They looked at us, giving us soft but thankful smiles.

"Th-thank you for protecting us." said the girl with the fox ears.

"No problem. It's what we do." laughed Calvin.

"If only others had bravery like yours… other than the Huntsmen, of course." the dog-eared boy told us. As they walked away, Calvin and I looked at each other with a question in our heads.

"Huntsmen?" Calvin pondered. I shrugged my shoulders.

"Maybe they're like the protectors of this world. Like us protecting Earth." The word 'hunt' was sure to tell us that these Huntsmen were strong warriors like the Power Rangers, or maybe some army dedicated to protecting this world from evil forces or something.

I wondered, if these Huntsmen were powerful enough to be revered as protectors, then maybe they could be of help to us against Galvanax, or whatever native monsters terrified the people of this world.

But I digress. We needed to focus on the mission; keep a low profile and only result to Ranger power when absolutely necessary. If we ever meet any of these Huntsmen, then we should do our best to explain the situation and tell them what was going to happen.

Okay, enough of that now. Cody was still out there, doing who knew what and was probably looking for us right now. Calvin and I continued our search, about to move when we heard something else in the distance.

"AAHHH!" Once again, a call for help. Darn it! We were supposed to be looking for Cody and now, we had to help someone out again. I was getting impatient with the distractions that were putting us off our search. But alas, I couldn't feel worse by ignoring the fact that someone was in trouble, and he or she needed our help.

"Come on!" Calvin shouted. I nodded and, together, we ran to find out what was going on. My mind was still on finding Cody, but my heart told me to do the right thing and help someone in dire need of our assistance.

Cody would understand. He's a great friend, and I'm sure he would be fine for now, but I had to get this thing done so I could find him.

"Hang in there, Cody… We'll find you soon."

 **TO BE CONTINUED…**


	11. The Call to Arms

**A/N~** **I've finally gotten around updating the story again! I know, I should find a better way to focus on my stories now and then. But no worries, I'm still in the game and will be updating as much as I can.**

 **Reviews**

 **DB-20**

 **The anniversary episode was actually much better than I thought! Not very epic compared to Forever Red, but not as lackluster as the 'Legendary Battle'. Overall, a very fun episode that I wished could have been longer.**

 **WerewolfMazuko117**

 **I hope you're still reading! And yes, like I said above for DB-20's review, great overall, but still wish it was longer.**

 **MrtheratedG**

 **Glad you enjoyed this story! Hope I didn't leave you to wait too long.**

 **Also, thanks to captainmarvolus, Hero Entertainment, rosariovamp1 and LZ Wildlough for the favourites and follows!**

* * *

 **Chapter 10: The Call to Arms**

Beacon Academy,

Vale City,

Vale,

Remnant,

Still in his office, Professor Ozpin sips on his usual mug of coffee, gently letting the bitter yet enlightening liquid amplify the energy inside of his calm body. As much as he hated to admit it, the energizing force the beverage brought was becoming something of an addiction among the more 'uplifting' staff of the academy. Still, it was always a treat to enjoy a cup of Mistralan coffee during a time of post-crisis peace.

Much to Glynda's chagrin, though, the head professor of one of Remnant's most prestigious Huntsmen Academies was simply taking his sweet time, all before a major festival and tournament underway. Even if control and security over the Vytal Tournament were forcibly handed over to that military glory hog, Ironwood, Ozpin should at least assert some authority over the things Atlas **wasn't** aware of.

The tapping of her cane, dabbing on and off her arm, impatience brewing inside of her. The fear of the unknown, while not evidently shown, was still picked up by the grey-haired professor.

"Something's about to be set in motion, and you're here enjoying your cup of coffee." groaned Glynda.

"Things are always set in motion these days, Glynda." Ozpin remarked as he stirred his cup, watching the liquid swirl around inside.

"What makes you so sure that General Ironwood would be oblivious to what is about to happen?" reminded Glynda again. "He has the full force of his army that would be ready to handle the threats before they would present themselves. Not to mention that he has his top intelligence operating across the kingdoms twenty-four-seven."

"If James found the disturbances, then there would have been action by now." told Ozpin. That much was true, he knew. Atlesian Knights would have been deployed in their squads to combat whatever was looming out there. Alas, with not a single cue from the military to defuse any possible threats, the city was as it was even before the Breach. "Nothing that I am unaware of. And as far as we know, the occurrences all seem to take place outside this city, so it would be unlikely for our good General to be notified so soon."

"I hope for your sake, Ozpin." Glynda crossed her arms, deciding to extend her patience for a little longer before Ozpin would ever act. After another unfruitful discussion, she turned around and left the room. She had better things to do right now, because she and a few other Huntsmen had to go around Vale to repair the damages done by the White Fang and Roman Torchwick before more chaos would spread. She was going all that focus on repairing the holes caused by the exploding train from Mount Glenn.

The wise old man turned around to view the scene from his window, finishing up the last of his coffee before he placed the mug down on his desk. Rising up from his seat, he took his cane and stood firmly to watch the blue skies, thinking about the strange things that might happen in just a few moments.

He was well aware that something unknown was coming, but there could be no further action until he found the opportunity to investigate. He did have a good feeling, though. Something else was about to spring up to meet with the other more disturbing presence… Something that was born out of the powers of valour and peace…

Something good for a change…

* * *

Vale City,

Vale,

Remnant,

 _ **~CALVIN'S POV~**_

When we ran out of the shop, we heard this old lady screaming somewhere nearby. We ran fast we could to face the problem, head on. Hayley and I turned to a dirty, old alleyway to find out what was going on.

To our shock, we saw the scene of the crime unfold! There we saw, the old lady, small and frail-looking, being harassed by a few fancily-dressed men, with black tuxedos over red shirts, beaming their red shades towards the poor lady. They had some wrenches out, almost looking ready to do some really terrible stuff to her. At this point, there was no doubt that we should do something to help her out.

"Come on, Calvin!" Hayley shouted as I nodded. We both ran towards the two troublemakers to take them on. Like how we dealt with those jerks at the store, we didn't really need our Ranger powers to deal with these guys. Besides, with our identities needed to be hidden, we had to keep ourselves from activating them as much as possible.

Hayley and I came up close against the gangsters, catching them by surprise. We ran up and immediately gave the two men a hard kick to the face. They both tumbled down to the floor, landing on their sides. After we helped the old lady, we checked on her to see if she was safe.

"Are you alright, ma'am?" asked Hayley, turning around to get her out while I kept my eyes on the two fallen men. The woman was shaken quite badly, unable to speak. We didn't have to hear anything, since there were two crooks still hanging on. So, Hayley and I told her to get out of the alleyway.

As the elderly woman ran off, we both stayed behind to deal with the two thugs. They got up groggily after we kicked their butts to the ground. As if the sneers on their faces weren't too obvious, their weapons were already out at the ready; a couple of wrenches out to clobber us in the head.

Still, we stood our ground and prepared to fight back. They then charged for us with their weapons up high, their smug faces just telling us how much they wanted to bring the pain. Hayley nodded at me, signalling for me to make my move first. That was one of the many techniques we would train with Brody and the others; surprise the enemy by heading off on your own and try and separate their manpower.

I started by running for the guy on the left, thrusting my arm out to tackle him. The men were startled as I ran right into my target. While I pinned the thug to the ground, that was when Hayley moved to intercept the other guy.

I couldn't see how Hayley faired against the gangster. I had to deal with this punk who I have tackled down and believed she had it under control. The thug was quite strong, shaking me off with his whole body and managing to throw me off. After I rolled away, I kept my eyes on the crook, just as he got back up and stared menacingly at me.

"You're going to pay so badly, kid." threatened the thug, bashing his wrench to the wall to show his anger. Like I was going to be intimidated by that? I fought monsters uglier than this guy! He then came charging towards me, with his wrench just waiting to be whacked at my head. I moved out of the way, grabbing his hand just before he could hit me. Next, I gave him a strong punch to the stomach, knocking him back. He then tried to hit me again with his wrench, but I quickly followed up with another set of blocks before swiping his legs with a sweeping kick down on the ground.

When he was down, I waited to see if he was going to get back up, and when he did, the fight resumed. I lunged a few punches at him. This time, though, he put up a better fight as he swung his arms right before I could do him good.

It eventually became an equal fight between us, me just trying to do some damage and then forced to defend myself at the next instance. But then, when he was about to jump up and give me the biggest clobbering ever, I rolled out of the way, right before his weapon crashed onto the floor. The concrete floor cracked under the force of the weapon, making me feel glad that I wasn't hit by such a big blow.

I then moved in to get the guy while he was still recovering, ending the fight with a swift kick to the head. He shouted in pain just before he spun out and hit the ground. Landing flat on the ground, I was sure he was out for the count after that hard hit. He stayed there for a few seconds, trying to get up before he finally had enough, falling face flat on the floor.

Satisfied, I turned the other way to see Hayley, holding out well against the other goon. She was ducking under from multiple swipes of the guy's fists, finding the time to strike back. Before I could head over to help, Hayley already settled the deal and gave him a proper uppercut to the chin, swinging him back into a flip.

I'll let you know this; if you mess with Hayley, the only thing you'll get is one nasty punch to the gut. That guy learnt it the hard way. After that one-hit wonder, I looked on, watching him squirm a bit before fainting.

With both men finally taken out, we both regrouped, giving each other a nice high-five for a job well done. Another day, another pack of bad guys down for the count.

The threat now passed, Hayley and I went out the alley, leaving the two men to feel their pain the next morning. We turned to the road to find the old lady they were harassing earlier. When we came up to her, she was full of cheers, thanking us for saving her.

"Oh!" She came up to me and suddenly, pinched my cheek, pulling my skin out like someone was pulling my hair. I tried my best not to show how much I was wincing, so it didn't look rude. "Thank you so much, kids!" She then let go of my cheek, causing me to rub it. I knew I heard Hayler snickering at me for the embarrassing moment. "Is there anything I can do to repay you, children?"

"Hehe. Not… really…" I chuckled.

"But maybe you can help us with something?" suggested Hayley. The woman nodded very happily. "We're trying to look for my dog. He's a Siberian Husky with a red collar around his neck. Have you seen him?"

The woman hummed with a questioning tone. Hayley and I held onto hope that she had something to help us find Cody. She kept wondering for a few seconds, and then she turned to us. A smile was on her face. Could it be…?

"Oooh! Yes! I did see a Husky around these parts!" At last! Some good news about our dear friend! Hayley hugged me from behind, taking me by surprise. I could feel that she was very happy for the slightest hint for Cody, which put me in high hopes, too.

"Do you remember where he was last seen?" Hayley asked again. "We really need to find him!"

"Of course!" the old lady complied. "Follow me, and I will show you where your doggie is." She turned around and began to lead us through the streets. Hayley and I kept on hoping that we would find Cody, and if the lady was right, she would be a miracle worker! So, we walked on, following her to find our lost dog, so we could continue our mission to find more traces of Galvanax.

* * *

 _ **~BLAKE'S POV~**_

You wouldn't believe what I'm going through, right now… No. Not my fight against discrimination and hatred, at least not yet.

No, the real situation, right now, was that a cat Faunus, like me, was walking around the streets of Vale, in the open, with a dog. A literal Husky, walking beside me like I was its master. Not the best pair in town, but I wouldn't really care less about what people thought.

I had to stick my head up to help this dog find its real owner, this Hayley, and head back home to get things done. The only solution to do so would be to walk towards the nearest police station and have the city notified that a dog was missing its owner. I just hoped the owner would arrive sooner, because my nerves were slowly being triggered by my habitual reluctance to be near a dog. Dog Faunus, I'm cool with them, but if you want me to choose between fighting a rabid beowolf and having fun with a living dog, I'd rather fight the beowolf.

I still felt it was the right thing to help someone find her dog and help him reunite with her. It would be a small sign of hope for good things to happen before we take on the Vytal Tournament, after all that happened during the Breach.

I eyed the dog, who walked without even batting an eye over me. He didn't seem to be very attached to me, as most dogs would to other human beings. I always felt it was weird, but hey, as long as it didn't get all lovey-dovey with me as Ruby's dog would, there would be no problem.

"So, what does your owner look like?" I tried to start some sort of conversation with the Husky named Cody. He just turned his head at me and stared as we walked, responding with nothing. I almost slapped my own head when I realized how idiotic it was to ask such a question to an animal. "Figures. I'm talking… to a dog."

We continued down the street, filled with people going here and there. I was almost surprised by the turn up of this many people, but I supposed it was due to the Festival coming just around the corner. But whatever was going on out there, whatever entity was about to reveal itself to cause more harm than what was already done, then all of these people were in for a major surprise. Even as Atlas' military was taking over security for the Festival, I wasn't so sure that they were ready for the monsters that just decided to show up.

And that didn't even include the true villains behind the whole chaos before…

None of that mattered for now. Cody needed to find his master and I had to help out. So, we kept on going, not bothering to wonder if anyone was going to question the sight of cat and dog walking together.

I would have had Cody on a leash to make sure he wouldn't run off like he must have done, but as far as I could tell, he didn't seem to feel like being bounded, almost as if he had been trained to stick to the person of interest. Whatever Hayley must have done to train him to fight and behave, she did a very good job, and that coming from someone not so keen on being controlled…

We were about to go through a small park, just a few metres away from the police station. We both took a stroll along the stone path, flanked by the grassy fields and shaded by a lone Emerald tree.

Just as we walked into the shadows of the leaves above us, Cody stopped. I took notice of his stop and turned to him, wondering what made him halt like that. I took a good look at his face, seeing it turn into a threatening growl, with his teeth showing while snarling. I wanted to ask what was wrong, but then, that was when I felt something off, like what he was feeling.

True to my feelings, I looked up at the tree and, all of a sudden, something jumped down towards me. On instinct, I grabbed the dog and sprinted out of the way. As I rolled out of the way, I heard a loud thud behind me before we crashed onto the grass. When I recovered, I let go of Cody and looked to where that object came crashing down on us.

To my shock, a lone stranger, crouched on the ground, had a sword stabbed right into the path. He wore a padded white vest with a black sleeveless undershirt worn right underneath, followed by a pair of black khakis tightly tucked down into his metal boots. And the things that got me agitated by the attacker; a pair of dog ears and, most noticeable among them all, a steel mask of a beast.

The mask of the White Fang. My old comrades…

I had to wonder how many White Fang stragglers were there after we stopped the Grimm from devastating Vale. I wasn't surprised by the fact that there were some missing spots, but I didn't think they would come so soon.

Despite how I still felt about the White Fang, I had to pull my weapon out in defence, while Cody bent down, ready to attack as well. The White Fang straggler rose up to face us, bringing his sword to his shoulder as he stared right into us with murderous intent.

"Don't worry." I told Cody. "Do what you want with him. Just don't kill him." I had to make sure he wouldn't tear off his neck or anything, but after what I've seen from his attacks against Junior's boys, I was sure he got the message.

"Time to die, traitor!" the White Fang member yelled. I looked around to see if anyone was around to witness the attempt on my life. Thankfully, nobody was around to be threatened. All bars were up; it was time to strike with everything I got.

The Faunus operative charged right at us, swinging his large sword at me. Cody and I jumped right out of the way, as the sword split us up and hitting the stone path again. I transformed my sword into a repeating pistol and fired multiple shots onto the attacker. He managed to pull out his sword and block off my bullets, knocking them all with its large broad blade.

At that moment, Cody jumped right in and tried to bite the man in the leg, only for him to get kicked out of the way, sending the Husky flying back and landing back where he started.

"The traitor calls upon the aid of an animal to fight me." said the straggler. "Pitiful, how the great Blake Belladonna has fallen to rely on innocent creatures to…"

I couldn't take the amount of crap he was throwing from out of his mouth. I quickly turned my gun back to sword mode and threw my blade towards him, letting the thick cord whip its way. Once it hit his sword again, I pulled it back and swung it again, letting loose a series of repetitive whips against him. Unfortunately, after five more strikes, the assassin managed to catch the very end of the cord, holding onto my blade before pulling it hard. I was tugged right for him like a magnet. He tried to punch me as I flew to him, but I managed to catch my balance and flipped over him, making him miss me by a long shot.

I landed right near Cody, pulling my sword away from his grasp to tend to the dog.

"You okay?" I asked it. Cody barked once, while still staring at our enemy, letting me know he was okay. "Good, then we have to coordinate our attacks if we are to take this guy down. You with me?" Again, another bark, confirming that he was ready to fight with me. I had to admit; the more he listened, the more impressed I got. Didn't think I was really that open to be fighting alongside a dog before.

The two of us started our run, both of us flanking the crook with our fangs (figuratively speaking for me, anyway) sharpened to strike. The attacker readied his own weapon against us, standing defensively. As we came close, he swung his blade to get a head start over us. I jumped over his blade and attempted to kick him down, while Cody waited for me to knock him off.

I landed both of my feet onto his mask, kicking him right back and allowing Cody to move right in and bite the man on the leg. I heard the shout of pain running throughout the park, just to show me how excruciatingly painful it must have been. The White Fang member tried to shake the dog off, but that would allow me to make my move and strike my blade. My shorter weapon swiped right at the hand holding his weapon, forcefully releasing it from his grip. When Cody was done, he let go of the man's leg and proceeded to jump on his head, pouncing him down to his back.

While he was pinned to the ground, I was about to knock the guy down with my weapon by bashing him on the head. When I ran to end it, the attacker kicked Cody off him and got back up. At that moment, I couldn't respond on time before he swung his blade, throwing its weight right at me.

The long, silver blade was about cut me right at the shoulder, and all I could do was brace for impact, shifting my blade to the side fast enough to catch it. But the force of the blow, added with my missed timing, caused the sword of Gambol Shroud to be knocked off and made me fall on the ground from a hit on my balance.

I collapsed to the ground, knocking my shoulder onto the stone path. The force of the fall had taken a number on my arm, spraining it and making it hard for me to get back up with the aching sensation striking my body. I tried, but my body was suddenly so riddled with shock and pain. I've dealt with worse than this, but now, I've been stunned by a mere sucker punch by a lowlife, let alone a misguided member of the White Fang.

Before I knew it, the attacker was about to finish up the job and end me for good. He crept up towards me, dragging his blade onto the path with a screeching wail ringing in my cat ears. His sadistic need to murder me was almost heart-felt, I didn't need to see it from within his mask. He was really ready to kill me, right there and then.

Still powerless to save myself, I looked up helplessly as the assassin readied to execute me with his sword right above his head. I closed my eyes, hoping for a miracle to happen. I could hear the blade swoop right down to end it.

 **SWOOSH!**

"ARGH!" Instead of a slash, however, all there was a thud and a shout from the attacker. Opening my eyes, I saw that my would-be killer was not standing over me. As I shifted my head to the side, I spotted his body, once again, lying down on the ground, tackled by Cody, who was able to save me in the nick of time.

And this time, his sword was not in his hand, sprawled away from him. Cody kept him down long enough for me to rise up and regain my composure. After some quick recovery, I stumbled forward and grabbed my blade. I scanned through my belt and took one of the remaining Dust clips Weiss gave me during our last mission. Slotting in the multi-coloured clip into my pistol and cocking it up, I aimed it at the intruder, telling Cody to move out of the way.

"Cody! Move!" The dog saw what I was doing and jumped away from my aim. When the White Fang attacker raised his head to face me, he was too late to do anything as I pulled the trigger, unleashing an icy burst that darted right towards him. The burst eventually engulfed him in a cold blanket of ice that trapped him in place. The cocoon of ice covered his entire body, leaving only his hands, feet and head sticking out, but I can also imagine him being struck by a freezing frenzy.

When I walked over to him, I saw how motionless he was, apart from shaking badly from the terrible freeze I gave him. But all in all, once I shot him down, he was already as good as done, the crisis finally averted.

After putting away Gambol Shroud, I rubbed my shoulder after the painful fall I took from the attack, massaging it to partially relieve the straining soreness. Afterwards, I looked at Cody, who came up to me and sat down, wagging his tail. I walked up to him and bent down. For the first time in my life, never would I have guessed, that I was feeling thankful to a dog for helping me. He really was someone really special to his owner, which also intrigues me on who Hayley really was if her dog was this able in fighting. However, my instincts still kept me from showing my appreciation.

"I know, I know." I sighed. "You saved my life. What more do you want?"

Then, from out of nowhere, Cody lifted his head up and licked my face, slobber now staining my cheek. Ergh… Slimy dog drool. Nothing worse than having your face slobbered by a dog… However, even I understood that it was out of good intentions after our little scuffle with our foe, so I gave him a warm smile for thanks.

"Let's go. Your owner shouldn't be too far." I declared as I stood up. Soon, we heard the sounds of sirens going off in the distance. That was our cue to leave behind our assailant and let the police take care of him, while the two of us headed for the station. With any luck, we would find the whereabouts of Hayley.

* * *

Warrior Dome,

Orbit of Remnant,

 _ **~ODIOUS' POV~**_

The plan was being messed up, right when things were going to plan. We were about to eliminate the threat of these mere human warriors, and all of a sudden, the Power Rangers emerged to spoil my fun once again. First, the Red Ranger destroyed one of my monsters in the forest outside the city with one Huntress, and now I got word that the Blue one was with another in the city.

Those wretched Rangers always proved to be a roadblock, with two of them already running amok, helping a few Huntsmen in foiling our plans. I was moving around an entire cycle around the Warrior Dome, telling the Kudabots to do this and do that, ordering contestants to concoct the next stages of the plan to take over Remnant. Getting them to listen to orders instead of bantering about appearing on television was already irritating enough, now I had to listen to Galvanax rant at every opportunity he had over the Rangers' arrival to this dimension.

I held my cards on Cinder's plans to counter the Rangers and their new allies against us, but even now, her whereabouts were unknown to me, only would she call me would I be aware of where she would be. I kept groaning, desperately itching for any contact so I could leave the Dome to hatch another one of my plans to defeat our enemies.

Still, as long as only two Rangers were teaming up with two Huntresses, I was going to run things smoothly before heading out to continue with the schemes with the few contestants operating in the city.

Just then, I heard the loud sounds of the resonating alarm crying off from my communications device, pressing me to pull it out of my belt and answer the incoming call. I moved it very close to my mouth, letting the caller know that I was not in the mood right now.

"Yes? What?" I grumbled, listening into what she had to say. As it so happened, it was from one of the contestants who I sent down to prepare for the grand events of Galaxy Warriors. Annoyed to the core, I let out my usual disgruntled voice towards the communicator while my contact reported to me on what was to come. Once the warrior was done explaining to me, my frustration mounted up to the maximum.

"What?! More of the Rangers are in the city?!" I yelled. Drats! Now, two more Rangers were wondering around the city! The enemy was already getting closer to reaching the other enemies. Just what were these ninkaputs doing other than trying to stop them?

No matter, I had to tell my contact to move on and take any chance she had to eliminate them. They were not going to go far with their miserable lives, and soon, their Power Stars would be mine!

"You know what to do!" I told her, before shutting off my connection with her. "Finish them off!" But after I cut off my call, I was to be showered with more unwanted attention, coming from the worst kind of idiocy.

"Having trouble, Odius?" Cackling with glee behind me, Ripcon just strode right in, taunting me at my most stressed. The constant pestilence of his wretched existence stenches the air around me.

"What do you want, Ripcon? I'm busy!" I urged.

"Busy doing what?" he asked again, suspicion slapped into his voice.

"What do you think?! I'm busy trying to get those worthless goons to hunt down the Rangers!"

"You better be sure, Odious." he snarled, watching me from the door before turning around and walking away, but not before giving me one of his half-hearted warnings. "If I ever catch you scheming behind Galvanax's back again, you'll know what's coming."

One of these days, Ripcon, I didn't care if it was the Rangers, Galvanax, or even myself who would do it, but soon, you would be eating those words! (And as of now, in this current retelling of the events, he has indeed paid the price at the hands of the Rangers…)

"Ergh… the nerve…" After the fool left the room, I went back to my mission to ensue chaos across this world, hoping no more distractions would come to haunt me. The last thing I needed was to have Galvanax screaming at my ears for the whole day if the Rangers could get together with the Huntsmen. I was not going to give them the chance!

* * *

Vale City,

Vale,

Remnant,

 **~HAYLEY'S POV~**

My separation anxiety for my dear dog was making me very nervous. I really wanted to get back to finding him before we would be kicked off course from our search. Not that I didn't appreciate help from an old lady, who somehow saw a dog like Cody; it was just me and my usual motherly concerns towards him that was driving me impatient.

We walked through the streets for a good few minutes now, and still, no sign of Cody. The old lady, Mertle as she was named, was still leading us to the possible place where she found a husky that could be him. We eagerly waited for her to tell us of any sign of Cody, keeping an eye out for him at the same time. Every second spent was another heartbeat of anxiety, pounding me like a hammer to the chest.

Calvin had his hand squeezed with mine, knowing how distressed I was. I knew I could always depend on him for comfort, but at the same time, it was very worrisome without Cody to stick around me. It was still always good to have someone like Calvin to help me through the day, being one of the most loyal of friends.

"Are you sure you know where my dog could have been?" I asked worriedly.

"Don't worry, my dear." giggled Mertle, looking behind at us as we walked. "You will find your little puppy in any minute now." Despite the kind response, it felt all the same, really. There was no difference from the beginning, when we lost Cody. I didn't want to make it obvious, but I was sighing hopelessly, getting more desperate to branch out and find him myself. But Calvin kept me in check, making sure I was alright. Giving me another smile, I had to calm myself down. Somewhere in this city, Cody could be able to find us; he was the most talented dog anyone could ever have! If any other Husky could go around a city for hours and find his friend in the end, it would be Cody.

We then came across a small square within the city, just to see a fountain right in the middle of the pavement of bricks. At that moment, Mertle finally stopped, looking around the empty square, where the only things we saw were the aforementioned stone fountain, with a statue of a brave warrior or knight rising above a fallen beast, added with a few benches, streetlamps and trash bins; just the place for a nice resting spot. The elderly woman then turned to us with her glasses raised up.

"I know I saw your doggy here." she told us. I took a look myself, seeing nothing but empty space with not a single soul but us. That didn't seem to help at all, unfortunately, as nothing concrete was ever pointed out that would lead us to Cody.

"Look, it's been nice of you for helping us, but I don't think we will find Cody around here." I cleared up apologetically. The woman looked at us sadly, seemingly disappointed that her help hadn't been much for us.

"Oh dear. I'm so sorry for not being able to help." she apologized.

"No, it's nothing to feel bad about." I insisted. "I just wish we had a better clue to finding him." I had to put my head to it, wondering what Cody would do in these times of loss. Where would he go when things looked bleak? What would he do to find a way back to me? It always amazed me how intuitive he was for a dog, even being able to help us take on Galvanax's minions in times of emergency.

So, it would have to be another lengthy search before we would ever find Cody, sure that he would eventually find his way back to us. We didn't want to trouble the old lady who was kind enough to help us this far, so we were about to bid her farewell, thanking her for her assistance.

"OI!" Suddenly, there was a loud, angry call, grabbing our attention as we turned our heads to where it came from. To my horror, we saw a very unwanted crowd of people we didn't need to see at that moment. These were full-grown men, wearing the same black and red clothes as the thugs we fought earlier. This time, there were six of them and they were all armed with even deadlier weapons, ranging from daggers to batons. At that moment, we were up against much more dangerous crooks than the last time, coming to exact their revenge.

Calvin and I stood in front of Mertle, shielding her from yet another excursion against some oppressive and dangerous men. Just when could things ever go the way we would like these days?

"We're not looking for trouble!" Calvin warned, both of us not letting out guard down against the thugs.

"Tell that to our pals who you assaulted." defended one of the gangsters with a smug.

"They had it coming!" I countered, but the verbal showdown was not to last.

"Yeah? Well, now, it's your turn!" With the bashing of his baton to the ground, the ringleader of the group finally gave the call to attack us, charging in with all their mob brutality. Calvin and I were about ready to deal with them. No matter what, we were not going to end up being victims to these guys any longer.

"Get behind us, ma'am." Calvin told Mertle as she hid behind the fountain in fear. When she was out of harm's way, the two of us prepared for another brawl, standing with our fists pumped up. We saw their weapons and had a small tinge of mixed emotions, conflicted about what to do with the higher stakes. I had this itchy hand just trembling to grab my Power Star and morph into a Ranger, knowing we would have to fight a gang of well-armed mobsters. But to give our identities away to them would be a very dangerous thing to do, risking our cover being blown away to Galvanax and whatever powers ruled this place.

All we had to do, for the time being, was to fight with our bare fists and the best of our ninja training…

They came for us with lightning speed, nearly catching us off guard, but we managed to catch up and separated the crowd into fair numbers. By taking them on with the idea that they had deadly weapons would be suicidal, but we had far worse; I mean, Kudabots with laser rifles and Bashers with their large cleavers? We fought those goons every day and it would just get staler after each fight. Bad guys with knives, batons and a nastier attitude? Consider that a level up from the usual monster battles. These were human beings, people who, even with all their violent intentions, we couldn't afford to destroy.

As such, we stuck to ending the fight with nothing but a few injuries and battered egos, for them.

* * *

 _ **~BLAKE'S POV~**_

After spending time walking around the city with a canine creature, something swam in my mind.

I was at the market district of the city, helping the lone Husky named Cody find his owner, some girl named Hayley. I spent a good amount of time with him, searching everywhere for her, but that was when I had a very strange pang of realization knocking at my brain.

If Cody was so capable of fighting a few bad eggs in our society, clearly trained to take them on, then how could it be so difficult to find his owner by using what he had learnt to reunite with her? Why was he sticking to me like **I** was his owner?

I certainly hope that wasn't the case. For all I knew, Cody still felt lost when we first met. If Hayley was not the kind, loving owner he believed in, then I'd be pretty agitated by how ignorant she would be. Some part of that instinctive drive still held signs of hesitation from me, understanding that an animal's love for their owners is not always as complex or straightforward as human or Faunus kind. Pets are often so engrossed by their devotion and trust in them as if they were leaders of the pack, that it wouldn't even cross their minds that their owners would end up abandoning them for nothing.

But I refused to let that thought linger; if I had to guess based on my Faunus instincts, Cody would still believe that his owner was the caring soul that kept him going. Even as mixed as I felt at worst, I held onto hope that he was one of the lucky pets that had a very loving owner; someone who treated him like a real family.

Like I know what being a good daughter was like…

"How are we ever going to find your owner? If I have to guess, you would be able to find her sooner, given how skilled you are." I spoke up to him, bringing up the strange thought in my head. Cody just looked up to me with blankness marked on his face (and by 'bland, I meant the usual ignorance of my rather inept statements). Sighing, I knew it was not going to do me any favours. "Sorry. I'm not much of a good talker, even to animals."

But then, Cody stopped again. His nose twitched and sniffed the air, suddenly startled by something. He bent to the ground and growled, seemingly disturbed by a mere presence.

"What's wrong now?" I asked him, but before I could even get a response, the dog, yet again, suddenly ran off, catching me off guard. "Cody!" I called out to him, but it was no use. He kept running off to who knew where. Groaning, I was just having had enough of these sudden sprints into the city. Just how much more catching up do I have to do?

I had to make sure he was okay for his owner to see him again, so I had no choice. Lifting my feet up, I decided to run after him.

Ergh! Dogs; you can never know what to do with them!

* * *

 _ **~THIRD PERSON POV~**_

Calvin and Hayley were minutes into the fight with the mobsters, and already they were starting to wane their strengths away. The risk of being hit by even deadlier weapons made them just as hard-pressed as they were when fighting Kudabots, Bashers and the occasional monsters. The only thing that made these crooks stand out, however, was the fact that they, like the Rangers, were human; no matter how malicious they could be, the instinct to hold back and lessen their strength was taking its toll on their conflict.

One thug swung his dagger on Hayley, leaving her to duck right underneath the strike before she gave him a swift kick to the back. But then, another crook reached out to her, hitting her square on the shoulder, forcing her back with a heavy hit.

Calvin had two thugs swiping at him with their blunt batons, barely catching the weapons in his two hands. Though in pain, the teenager held his own, but not realizing the third gangster coming up at him with a kick to his back that threw him off to the ground.

Hayley suffered another push by a shove from another thug before she joined Calvin onto the floor, beaten and bruised by the batons, slightly scratched by the knife blades and tired from everything else. The two Rangers, left powerless without using their Power Stars against human beings, were borrowed time, almost unable to do anything but take more hurt from the empowered gang.

They had to fight on, for the protection of their own dimension and the current one. Galvanax was still out there, plotting a major scheme to exploit this world and its opportunities. It was too soon to give up now. But above all else, Hayley refused to go out without knowing where her beloved dog was at the time. She didn't want to abandon him if something were to happen to her and Calvin. She needed to be there for him to the very end, and she knew he wanted to same for her. Even if they were to be beaten down, they had to fend themselves and find some way to fall back and regroup. The gang, however, was as relentless as they were ruthless, not wanting to let them get away with their previous encounter. So, with their battered bodies, the Rangers had to put in more strength in their defence. Perhaps, maybe at this situation, they had to resort to using their Power Stars, just to buy them time to escape.

Then, Hayley turned her head to the right, noticing something coming her way. From out of the blue, she could see a shimmer of hope on four legs.

"Cody?" At that moment, she could see the image of a dog, running for her with all its speed. It then jumped up in the air and landed right in front of the two injured Rangers, standing its ground and snarling at the gang who attacked them. "Cody!"

The Rangers were beyond elated to see that their faithful pooch and loyal friend was safe and sound, now back to help them out. Hayley bent down to greet the dog, hugging him as he licked her face, overjoyed by their reunion.

"Oh, Cody! We've been looking all over for you!" Hayley kept embracing the Husky, while he whimpered with relief to find her again. She always knew he would find a way to be back with her and Calvin, trusting the help of a stranger he felt could help.

But the joy was short-lived. Hayley separated from Cody to face the gang. They were not at all threatened by Cody's sudden return to his family's side, rather they just chuckled out in great amusement that a puny mutt had come to try and save the day. Later, they would realize, Cody was not on his own.

From out of nowhere, a new stranger had entered the fray. Right next to the dog, a shadowy figure emerged, jumping into the fight before revealing its true form. The cat-like Faunus, Blake Belladonna, had come to the aid of the lost Husky, crouched down with Gambol Shroud already loaded. Now, the mobsters had a reason to be worried. Their two victims were now joined by a Huntress!

Calvin and Hayley, too, were quite surprised by the sudden arrival of this girl, seeing her standing by Cody's side to help them out. Seeing her two bladed weapons in her hands, they easily recognized her as a capable warrior; someone who could actually take on a full gang of mobsters. The way she stood against the gang was another indicator that she was definitely on their side; that is, if they got to know her better.

Blake also saw how Cody went up to defend these two strangers, instantly feeling that he had found the people he was looking for. Cody had found Hayley, at last, seeing her being victimized by the usual appearance of Junior's gang. But knowing they were able to stand their ground against the thugs showed Blake just as much on how Cody was so well-trained himself.

Just who were these people? Could they have been Huntsmen from another land, or were they already trained at some degree? They certainly looked old enough to be qualified for any of the Huntsmen Academies throughout Remnant. For them to handle Junior's gang members as much as they could have, she was quite impressed.

But now, the matter of the gang had to be done with, if everyone was going to come out peacefully.

"Get back." warned Blake to the two people behind her, unaware of what they were truly capable of. Despite their wounds, Calvin and Hayley did not wish to back down just yet. They needed to remind the gang that as long as they were here on this world, they will not be disturbed while they were on their mission to find Galvanax and whatever he had planned.

"Not a chance." urged Hayley. "We're here to help."

"You're injured. Do you really think you can withstand much more pain?" Blake didn't really know why these two citizens were so defiant to the end. They were victims, after all, so why should they continue to take the fight after such a rough battle with these dangerous mobsters? She couldn't tell, but that didn't seem to matter now. If they were so keen on dealing a blow on these crooks, she supposed they may have a good reason to, knowing how Cody seemed to trust them.

"I'm not sure how much more you can take." Finally, Blake sighed, allowing the couple to take part in the attack. "But fine." After letting them in, she faced the gang with stern eyes, joined by Calvin and Hayley as they breathed their pain out to help Blake deal with the thugs.

The gang didn't need to wait. The odds were still against the three victims, so they spared no room for hesitation. They took their weapons in their hands and resumed their attack on the trio. Blake gripped her weapons tightly, charging forward while Calvin and Hayley backed her up from behind. The unpowered humans engaged with two thugs each while their new ally fought the rest of the four. This time, the couple knew that they should combine forces to battle them. They closed the gap between each other, taking turns in dealing with the men.

Calvin had his hands full on his attackers, dodging each swipe of their weapons and fists while countering back with his own limbs, thrust at them with renewed speed. One of the thugs then tried to stomp on his foot, raising his boot upwards to make the kick. Calvin managed to catch the crook in the act and jumped up, landing his own feet onto the knee of the thug, balanced himself onto it and delivered a swift spin kick to the face. With one thug down, Calvin then shifted his focus on the next gangster who attacked him. The man tried to grab his head, but again, Calvin hurriedly grabbed him before he could get his hands on him and tossed the man over his back like a judo practitioner.

He looked over to Hayley, seeing her handle three mobsters at once. They all took quick jabs at her, attempting to knock her off. However, they would finally come to see a revitalized girl who, energized by the reunion with her dog, rapidly took on their strikes, blocking off all of their attacks with precise aiming of her hands. When there was an opening, she would kick a thug on the chest and deliver a fist to another right on his head, wiping the red shades of his head.

Once they were free of some weight, the couple got together to deal with the rest, coordinating a synchronized assault upon the last few thugs.

Meanwhile, Blake was having a somewhat easier time fighting Junior's thugs. She has had her experience cut out for her, having fought all sorts of terrible things in her life. These boys were nothing more than regular thrash that could be discarded with ease. Her short blade struck a man's weapon with sudden force that completely knocked his grip off, then using her larger blunt side of Gambol Shroud to whack the man in the head. Her head then turned to the three other men, who gathered to form a line. In their hands, they each grabbed a small orb that Blake recognized as firecrackers, probably used to distract her before they could clobber her. Spotting them attempting to throw the bombs, Blake leapt up in the air, just as the firecrackers left their hands, missing their mark. The resulting blast of popping sparks on the floor did not hit their target, as Blake vaulted over the three of them, using the cable attached to her pistol to be wrapped around them in a tight lashing grip. Once she landed, she then pulled the cable in and made the three men fall down to the ground.

Calvin and Hayley had already gotten two men beaten down, leaving two more to be repeatedly suppressed by a flurry of punches and kicks before finally giving them a heavy kick on them. The thugs fell to the ground like bowling pins until they could not rise up to challenge them.

After seeing that they had done what they could, Blake ran to join them, amazed by their perseverance in fighting a gang of dangerous mobsters. There was clearly a sense of skill and dedication that made their stances so noble. There was truly something about their abilities that gave her the idea that this wasn't an unusual occurrence for the teenagers.

With the three together, the gang soon stumbled together, dizzy and bruised from a long fight with the three unlikely teenagers. One good look on their faces, and the thugs were immediately forced to flee, not looking back at the people they thought would be easy prey. They fled to the alleys, hoping to never have another bad day with the wrong people.

The chaos being over, Blake turned her attention to the two teenagers, with Hayley bent down to hug Cody again with better time for a peaceful reunion. Calvin was by the other side of Cody, patting him on the head for a job well done. When Blake came over to them, they looked up to see this quiet-looking girl with a black bow on her head. Regardless of her looks, they welcomed her all the same.

"Did you help Cody through the streets?" asked Hayley.

"Yeah." Blake nodded, giving them a small smile to show her gratitude for their reunion. "He wasn't much trouble at all."

"Thanks. I'm Hayley, by the way." She shook Blake's hand before turning it over to Calvin. "This is my boyfriend, Calvin."

"Nice to meet you, uh…"

"Blake." she said. "Just call me Blake." The introductions went off pretty well, much to Blake's relief, considering she was never the most social of people. Calvin and Hayley were certainly thankful someone had the fight in her to help them deal with the gang, amazed further by the fact that she had actual weapons! Just what was she? More importantly, could she be a great ally in their quest to stop Galvanax?

They had the gut feeling they should let her in on what was going on, but they couldn't risk it, having not gotten to know Blake enough to realize her true allegiances. Perhaps they should stick around, but again, they couldn't afford to stray away from the mission. Maybe, in time, things could work out between them, no matter what their fates led them to.

Then, from out of the fountain, the old lady, Mertle, tipped her way to the teenagers, graciously glad that those bad boys were dealt with.

Blake was surprised to see her, remembering her as the woman she helped rescue from two of Junior's other boys. She couldn't have imagined that a coincidence could happen like this, which sort of amused her."

"Ooooh, my! What brave kids!" she cheered. "And such strength too!" She then came up to Calvin and pinched his cheek, almost as hard as a laundry clip stuck to his skin.

"Uh… thanks." Calvin sighed as he rubbed his cheek. Mertle then looked over to Blake, recognizing her as the nice lady who helped her deal with the same thugs earlier.

"Ooooh… And you must be that nice lady who helped me at the alley earlier today!"

"Yes, ma'am." Blake nodded, smiling at Mertle for another unexpected meeting.

"Well, why don't we all come to my home and have something to eat?" offered Mertle, inviting everyone for a nice little treat for such an eventful day. Calvin and Hayley certainly didn't know whether to accept the offer or refuse and continue with their mission. It would be rude not to accept a nice lunch with Mertle, and it wouldn't be too much of a bother to spend a few hours. After all, they had just found Cody and fought off a series of crooks, so it would be grand to have some real rest for now.

"I guess we can't say no to that." Calvin shrugged, with Hayley sharing his opinions. Blake also had some thought on the invitation, as she wouldn't mind at least getting to know more about these skilled teens, and maybe, what they wish to do about their abilities.

However, the peaceful gathering was soon to be shattered.

 **BARK! BARK! BARK!**

All of a sudden, Cody barked viciously, forcing Hayley to catch him.

"Whoa! Hold on, Cody!" She held her dog gently, calming him down. She managed to get him to slow down, but the Husky kept growling, with his teeth sticking out in a threatening matter. When Hayley looked to where he was barking at, she couldn't really believe what she would find. Cody seemed to be acting hostile towards… Mertle?

The old woman was startled by the sudden outburst, being tended to by Calvin.

"I'm so sorry, ma'am!" apologized Calvin. "He's never like this to people." After a few breaths, Mertle simply chuckled it off, not offended by the sudden outburst.

"It's quite fine, dear! I'm not very good with dogs!" It seemed to have told just as much, as Cody kept on snarling at her while being handled by Hayley. Perplexed by his behaviour, as well, Blake just couldn't know what was going on his mind when he decided to act negatively towards this kind old lady.

"Cody!" Hayley kept him down after he tried to shake her off, adding more mystery into his behaviour. Blake couldn't help but feel something strange coming from Cody. She was very curious as to why Cody would be so viciously hostile towards Mertle. Hayley and Calvin insisted that he was never like this to anyone who seemed decent to his friends.

Then again, she had learnt to trust Cody's instincts when fighting Junior's thugs and that White Fang straggler at the park. If there was something bothering Cody, then could there be a good reason why he was being protective against this old lady?

"What's wrong with him?" she wondered aloud.

"I don't know." told Hayley. "He's never acted this way before." It was all too bizarre for even the mysterious Blake Belladonna, very confused about Cody's animosity towards this old lady. What did she have that might have had ticked him off?

Despite the hostilities, Mertle just waved off the issue, eager to let bygones be bygones.

"I'm sure he means no harm." she insisted. "Now, let's go home so we can talk about those Power Stars of yours."

"Huh?!" Then, just when things were about to go off without steam, Blake's ears perked up at what Mertle had just said.

"Wait a minute!" she called, catching everyone by surprise. As it turned out, Calvin and Hayley had just heard the same thing. "What did you say they have?"

"Eh?" Mertle seemed clueless, but the three teens knew something was weird.

"You just said they had…" Blake looked at the teens, curious over what she said at the very end that caught her attention. "Power Stars?"

"Did I say something? Oh, deary me!" Mertle had her hand in front of her mouth, apparently oblivious to her sentence. But by then, the teenagers were not buying it. She did indeed mention something that, to Calvin and Hayley's knowledge, would never know, especially since she was supposed to be someone not from their world.

"Hold on. You did say that, didn't you?" Hayley inquisitively asked, now letting go of Cody as she stood forward. The dog stayed behind, now his suspicious behaviour being more legitimate with this sudden change of events.

"How did you know about our Power Stars?" asked Calvin. Now, everyone was onto Mertle like she had just become the suspect of a crime, a person of question. How did a woman from this very dimension, all of a sudden, know about the famed Power Stars; something that only the Rangers, and anyone else they knew from Earth, knew about. Mertle was starting to startle out of control. She was being backed away by these teenagers who were now sceptical about where she stood in all of this. Just what did she know that she wasn't supposed to?

Then, just as they had her in their watchful eyes, Mertle stopped moaning in fright, and then, with a sudden change of heart, began to giggle. Giggle and giggle, perplexing the teens even further. But then, all of their suspicions were about to be brought to the light when she then started to laugh out with a cold, cringing tone. They backed away when Mertle rose up from her crooked stance to an upright one, standing well on her two legs before she laughed with all her heart.

What happened next would set a whole new standard for them, as their new friendship was to be put to the test.

Mertle then cackled out her last bit of breath before she grabbed her clothes and threw her arm out. When the clothes were ripped off, she suddenly transformed into an abominable, freakish monster that towered over them. Everyone retreated, shocked by the revelation. Blake, especially, was more than baffled when she saw what had transpired. There she was, dealing with a woman she thought was not telling everything, but then, 'Mertle' decided to show it all in such a way that completely took the Faunus by surprise. She had never seen such monstrosity ever in her life, other than the Grimm and the symbolism that the White Fang currently held.

This monster was almost in perfect humanoid form, standing with a coat of pink armour with a pair of white gloves and a face with only one eye, strands of eyelashes sticking out. On top of her head, a helmet shaped like a telephone was stuck onto her head, complete with an antenna-like membrane sticking out from her left shoulder. This was truly an abnormal beast of the crudest way possible. **(A/N~ Telephone Sensei from Gosei Sentai Dairanger)**

"What is that?!" she exclaimed, horrified by what she saw. And when she saw the reactions of Calvin, Hayley and Cody, her stunned expression only worsened when she noticed how defiant they were, as if they knew what they were facing! She couldn't help but ask what they thought.

"Long story." Exemplifying Blake's confirmation, Calvin breathes out with casual suave, staring right at the monster with no sign of fear. What did they know about this monster? Who were they really?!

"I'm Scam-Ma! And I'm just one call away from getting your precious Power Stars!" Again, the mention of these Power Stars made Blake even more confused. She guessed that it had something to do with her new acquaintances.

"She must be one nasty mama!" joked Calvin.

"Is that why you ran off, Cody?" Hayley looked down to her dog. "You knew there was a monster somewhere in the city?" Cody barked once, acknowledging her suggestion.

Blake's mind felt like it went through a jumpstart. It started to make sense. At one moment, she met the 'old lady' in the alley near A Simple Wok's. And then, the next instance, she met Cody in that same alley, almost at the same time. If both were so close to each other, then it must had been connected. Cody did indeed sense the presence of the monster in disguise and went to look for her.

It all made sense now. But the question remained, what did her three new friends had to do with all of this?

"Alright." threatened Scam-Ma. "You know the drill! Give me your Power Stars and Galvanax will spare your lives!"

Calvin and Hayley looked at each other. Now, they were sure that it was the best time to finally stop hiding. They had to use the Power Stars; they had to become Power Rangers, even when there was someone else in their midst. However, they did put faith in the fact that she was a capable and understanding warrior who could be trusted. Wherever this may have gone, they had to make do with the situation if they were to defeat the more obvious threat.

"Blake." told Hayley, slightly burdened from breaking the low profile. "What you're about to see might surprise you." Blake stared at the two, unsure what they could have that might prove her suspicions.

Pushed into action, Calvin and Hayley dug into their pockets and pulled out their Yellow and White Power Stars, thrusting it out in front of them before their Ninja Morphers appeared in their other hands.

" **POWER STARS! LOCK IN!** " They locked in their stars and gave them a spin, powering them up for the transformation.

" **NINJA SPIN!** " As their stars spun, they glowed to a bright blinding white light, engulfing their bodies and, in an instant, morphed the human teenagers into a duo of empowered warriors. The Yellow and White Rangers had emerged with their Star Blades out at the ready.

"What the…?" As if Blake's surprises weren't big enough, she just got the weirdest conclusion to her investigative search for answers. She eyed the bizarre look of the two Rangers who were once human teenagers she had just met on the street, puzzled by their power and appearance. Now, she was even more eager to know what their game was.

"We'll explain later." Hayley told her. "Just follow our lead." But beneath her inquisitive exterior, Blake still felt that these warriors were still the good-hearted individuals she met earlier. With their powers, she was sure they could actually do some good for the city.

"Okay." Finally, she drew Gambol Shroud again, devoted to helping the Rangers defeat Scam-Ma. Whatever unknown forces threatened Remnant today, she was bound to get to the bottom of it.

Ruby was right, she thought. There was definitely something deeply troubling going around at this moment.

"Kudabots!" Scam-Ma raised her arm up, summoning a squad of Kudabots to cover her. Blake was taken aback by the sudden warping of these blue soldiers, more troubled by how many they were, which gave her a clue of how more serious this case could get. But she paid no attention to her questions; she had to defeat these monsters alongside her new allies. "Attack!"

"Blake." called Calvin. "Care to take out those Kudabots for us?"

"Any advice on how to take these things out?" asked Blake.

"Just go wild! I'll back you up" Hayley blatantly answered, giving her the idea that she could just do whatever she could, fight them like she would against other Huntsmen and Huntresses or maybe even the White Fang, other criminals, even the Grimm. Either way, she'll fight with all her heart.

The horde of Kudabots charged towards the three, meeting up with them in a vicious battle within this small part of the city. Blake and Hayley went for the minions while Calvin headed right for the leader.

As Blake would find out, fighting these alien beings was going to prove a little more difficult than fighting the Grimm. They fought with slightly better coordination than those wild, soulless beasts, using their spears to catch her off guard before they would strike. The Faunus warrior coped rather easily against them, however. Just like the sparring sessions in Beacon, she learned to take in the tight circle of spears and blades thrown at her from all sides, letting Gambol Shroud guard her against all strikes.

Hayley was right beside her, reducing the burden of the Faunus' shoulders by fighting the Kudabots. She had the advantage of having more familiarity with these brutes, assisting Blake however she could. Her Star Blade spun around, slashing at the Kudabots with grace and smooth prowess. Her blade slit through their weak armour like a pair of scissors snipping through paper.

Blake then converted her dagger into pistol mode, firing rapidly at the grunts around her. In an instant, all of the goons on her end were downed. Then, she set her sights on helping Hayley take out the rest of the horde, running to join her in the exchange.

"How are you holding up?" Hayley called, giving one Kudabot a kick to the head.

"Pretty good." Blake responded as she tossed a Kudabot away before swiping another with the blunt side of Gambol Shroud. "I thought these creatures would be more formidable."

"You'll get used to them." The two girls fought side by side, almost naturally becoming in sync with their attacks. In no time, they were able to finish off the Kudabots in record time.

In the meantime, Calvin was handling on his own against Scam-Ma, fighting with her bare fists. He slashed his sword here and there, trying to get a hit on the alien, but she was able to block his moves, swiftly moving her hands to shake off his advances. When the Yellow Ranger got his weapon locked in between Scam-Ma's arms, he was willing to get to the bottom of Galvanax's plans.

"How did you even know we were here?" he demanded.

"I've seen the footage from past episodes, Rangers!" explained Scam-Ma. "Your faces are all over Galaxy Warriors! I just decided to come up with new tricks to get your precious Power Stars!"

"And what brings you here in the city?"

"I'd tell, but that'd be a total waste of time, wouldn't it?"

"Enough talk." shouted Hayley as she jumped right in to join her boyfriend. "You won't jeopardize any lives today. Not in our world, and definitely not here!"

Blake's questions grew larger by how Hayley boldly declared that she would defend her **world**. What did that mean? Could they not be from Remnant as well? That drew the line for possibilities; no one could ever come from above the stars, let alone go into them. It was just too farfetched for her, or anyone from Remnant. Aside from that, she felt comfortable knowing that, no matter where these strange people came from, she was fighting alongside two heroes who fought to protect the innocent.

The two Rangers were knocked back by the monster, joined by Blake as she prepared to move in for the attack. Scam-Ma made the move to deal absolute pain to them.

"Oh my, Rangers! Galvanax called! He wants his Power Stars back!" she growled.

"Tell him they're not for sale!" retorted Hayley.

"You have an incoming call, Rangers! Your impending doom!" Scam-Ma used the antenna on her shoulder to channel sonic waves into her eye before she shot out a series of energy rings that struck the three heroes like a laser bolt.

Blake felt the full sting of the attack, forcing her to vault back. The two Rangers, however, were caught off guard, thrown to the ground with heavy force. The Huntress was able to withstand the force of the blow, though she did feel like her arm had been struck by a hundred fire arrows, burning into her skin. Despite the pain, she stood firm, ready to strike back.

When Scam-Ma attempted to fire another wave of sonic energy, Blake summoned the power of her Semblance, creating a shadow copy of herself who took the blast for her, while the real thing dashed to the side and charged towards the monster. With Gambol Shroud, she speedily sliced away at the monster, putting her down to size. Eventually, after such a lightning-paced strike, Blake eventually found the source of Scam-Ma's power and slashed away the antenna from her shoulder, cutting it off and leaving the monster in pain.

"ARGH!" she screamed, grasping onto the cut shoulder. Blake flipped back to the Rangers. The two of them had their Star Morphers configured into their Bow Modes, pulling back the arrows to unleash their double attack.

"Arrow Blast!" They released their grips, firing a pair of blue energy arrows that speared into Scam-Ma with great piercing power, striking the monster in the shoulders and delivering the ultimate blow that finally rendered her out of strength. The monster was thrown back with no fight left to attack the Rangers and Blake. Soon, that meant they could finally put an end to her malicious ways.

"Stand back, Blake. This one's going to be a flashy finish." Hayley warned. Blake took a step back and let the Rangers finish Scam-Ma off. With their Power Stars locked onto their blades, they spun them with their thumbs and powered them to their fullest. As they spun their blades back for the final blow, they dashed forward, ready to defeat their enemy and prevent her from doing more harm.

" **Final Attack**!" Upon reaching Scam-Ma in a power dash, they swung their swords together, waves of yellow and white light cut right through the monster with the utmost power. The attack soon left the combatant shattered to the core, sending her flying back after an explosive end to her fight.

After unleashing their Final Attack, the Rangers retreated back to Blake, victoriously watching their enemy tumble down, expecting her to blow up. However, their attack did not do its job, only severely injuring the monster as she rolled from the blast. Not to say their attacks had always fully taken out some monsters before, but they couldn't help but feel incomplete when putting a monster down for good.

Scam-Ma managed to get up, but was so weakened by her attackers that she couldn't even keep her one eye straight. She shook as she stood, her rage still as high as ever.

"Why you…! I'm gonna make you pay for that!" The Rangers and Blake prepared for another battle at hand, expecting another form of retribution from the alien combatant. One more hit should do before the monster is finally put down.

But then, when Scam-Ma was about to retaliate, she stopped moving. Then, the Rangers couldn't tell, but they could have sworn they saw a hand raised up to the left side of her head, almost as if she was calling someone. They stared at her for a few seconds, watching what she was doing. Before long, she stopped and looked back at the three, lividly decided to end the fight, after all; just not on the Rangers' terms.

"A call came in, Rangers!" she shouted. "I've got other plans! You best be prepared for what's about to come ringing!" Then, she raised her arm up in the air before she teleported away, leaving the stunned fighters to helplessly watch as their enemy fled.

Though disgruntled by the escape, the Rangers supposed that it wouldn't be the last time they would face her. Her fleeing would mean an alarming hole in their element of surprise, that Scam-Ma would alert Galvanax of their presence. Then again, given that Scam-Ma was already scheming to steal their Power Stars long before, their surprise was already broken from the start. They would have to be ready for anything from this point on.

"Power Down!" The Rangers soon demorphed back to their human forms, distressed over the possibility of a battle against Galvanax, in a world that didn't need their conflict against him.

But the worse was over, for now. All Hayley wanted now was to get back to her beloved Cody and cuddle with him, relieved that he was alright. Meanwhile, Calvin was left to answer for a particular witness to the battle against Galvanax. Blake came up, now with the look of questioning, bent on finding out who they were and what was going on that was about to threaten her home.

"So, you guys wanna tell me what the heck is going on here?" asked Blake with seriousness. Calvin sighed as Hayley came up to finally give in. They were now in league with a special warrior who was, whether they liked it or not, now involved in their fight.

"We better do a lot of explaining…"

They took about ten minutes to finally explain to Blake everything. They told her about where they came from, which perplexed Blake enough. Then, they went on to tell her about Galvanax and his game show of violent fighting, before telling her what they were fighting for, what Galvanax threatened to do if they lost their battles.

"So, you're telling me that you came from some other dimension?" The Faunus from Remnant wanted to be sure she got their details right.

"Correct." Calvin confirmed.

"And those monsters…" She stopped to reconsider her sentence, still not used to the fact that anything could possibly come from the stars above. "Those _aliens_. They're from some game show that involves fighting monsters and powerful metal stars."

"Keep it going." Hayley nodded.

"And you're basically heroes called Power Rangers trying to stop them from taking over both your world and mine?" And so, the teens had given her their approval of her guesses, finally giving her the full picture of the situation. It was all still very unbelievable for Blake, really. None of this made sense, even in the standards of Remnant's most ridiculous myths. No amount of wondrous literature could prepare her for the preposterous story she was given by these two mysterious humans.

But she had to choose to go along with it. She didn't really care if this bizarre crisis was impossible in theory; there was no doubt that these monsters were starting to emerge and were planning something diabolical behind the scenes. With Vale within the tight hold of Atlas' military after the Breach, the last thing it needed was have these alien creatures ruin everything before the Vytal Festival, nor would she let them doom Remnant.

"Okay, I get the whole plot, but 'Power Rangers'? That is just goofy." she sighed.

"She's not half wrong there." admitted Calvin, which only earned him a bump to the shoulder by Hayley. "Ow!"

"We hope you can believe us, because we do know that this can be a little hard to swallow." said Hayley. "Look. As far as we know, Galvanax has been sending his monsters throughout the city walls, but they seem to be in the city as well. You and whatever higher power in this world could be in big trouble." She then thought of what she might have to do with Blake. There's no point letting her remain in the dark about Galvanax if she had already encountered one of his monsters. If she was here to fight them, then it's a safe bet she'd be eager to cooperate. If there were others like her who could fight, then she could probably bring in the help they would need.

"This might be a little crazy… but you're going to need all the help you can get. And in turn... You can help us too."

"Hayley!" Calvin jumped up in shock. "Brody told us not to get anyone involved!"

"It's too late, Calvin. We already got herself into this mess. We can't just let her go just yet. I mean, look at her. She's clearly a warrior herself. She might help us more than we'd think." Calvin thought about Blake helping them, wondering if it was a good idea to bring her in, when they didn't even know what kind of allegiance she served in this world. However, they did spend a good amount of time fighting alongside her, showing no sign of opposition against them. That could mean she could be a good ally to fight alongside with, but they still barely even know her. If she was to join their side, they needed to know her better.

"Okay, fine. But if Brody ever finds out about this…" he warned, but was playfully interrupted by his girlfriend.

"Who says I'm the one telling him?"

"If you're both done arguing like an old married couple, then you wanna hear my decision?" Blake then told them. They turned around back to her so they could hear her out on her choice about the crisis at hand. Understandbly, she was much in the unknown as anyone in Remnant would be, so she had to rely on the aid of these humans from some other world to help her save her world from more danger than it was already in. "Clearly, this is a threat we, the people of Remnant, are not prepared for. I mean, for me and the rest of us Huntresses and Huntsmen. So, if you are willing to trust us, then we can make it work."

Calvin and Hayley looked at each other, nodding in understanding.

"Thank you." Hayley told Blake. "We'll do our best to help your world out."

"I trust that you will." agreed Blake. "Now, we have to go and find my teammates." The Rangers couldn't be any happier over the fact that Blake wasn't a lone fighter. She, too, had a team of others who could join them in the fight against Galvanax.

"Same as us." acknowledged Calvin, giving Blake the same fascination that there were more humans out there who were involved with her new friends. "If we can get everyone together…"

"Then we'll be a bigger team! An alliance!" Hayley couldn't contain her excitement, tackling Calvin by the back while he swung her around, joined by the ecstatic barks of Cody.

"Sounds like a plan." Blake giggled. Things would only get weirder from here, but she knew it was all necessary in fighting a threat unknown to her and all of Remnant. "So, what's the plan?"

"We have to go find a place to settle down first. We can contact the others there." suggested Calvin.

"I know a nice place we can rest at." offered Blake.

"Good. I could use a good drink of water. Is the water here good?" asked Hayley.

"I'm sure." Blake rolled her eyes, amused that they went that far to solve the differences between their world and hers. As Calvin and Hayley went to one corner to discuss further about their plans, Blake then saw Cody walking up to her, sitting down with the same attentive face. She bent down to his level and sighed, wondering how this one Husky could have gotten her into this mess.

"You definitely know how to cause some trouble, huh?" She then made the brave move and stroked Cody on the head; something she never even did to Ruby and Yang's own dog. But, of course, that led to the dog into believing she was okay with him, licking her face. She then wiped the slobber off her face, quite disgusted and starting to regret touching his head. "I hate it when you dogs do that..."

Regardless, the dog, and his owners, were good-intentioned beings, willing to help her and Remnant overcome a force far beyond the comprehension of even the wisest. If there was any chance of defeating this Galvanax, these Power Rangers could hold the key and joining forces with them was to be the only hope the world had. Calvin and Hayley, too, needed to trust Blake, not just as a guide to this strange world, but as an ally in their battles against the Galaxy Warriors, for they could team up with other skilled warriors and rid this dimension of Galvanax's reign of terror.

All they needed to do now was to contact the others and form their alliance…

 **TO BE CONTINUED…**


End file.
